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ILLINOIS 

COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


State  Geological  Survey 

Engineering  Experiment  Station  University  of  Illinois 
■> 

U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines 


BULLETIN  14 

Coal  Resources 

OF 

District  VIII  (Danville) 


I 

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BY 

FRED  H.  KAY  and  K.  D.  WHITE 
Field  Work  by  K.  D.  White,  Fred  H.  Kay,  and  others 


Printed  by  authority  of  the  State  of  Illinois 


STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBAN A 
1915 


The  Forty-seventh  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
with  a  view  of  conserving  the  lives  of  the  mine  workers  and  the 
mineral  resources  of  the  State,  autWbrized  an  investigation  of  the  coal 
resources  and  mining  practices  of  Illinois  by  the  Department  of 
Mining  Engineering  of  the  University  of  Illinois  and  the  State  Geo¬ 
logical  Survey  in  cooperation  with  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines. 
A  cooperative  agreement  was  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  In¬ 
terior  and  by  representatives  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

The  direction  of  this  investigation  is  now  vested  in  the  Director 
of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines,  the  Director  of  the  State 
Geological  Survey,  and  the  Director  of  the  Engineering  Experiment 
Station,  University  of  Illinois,  who  jointly  determine  the  methods  to 
be  employed  in  the  conduct  of  the  work  and  exercise  general  editorial 
supervision  over  the  publication  of  the  results,  but  each  party  to  the 
agreement  directs  the  work  of  its  agents  in  carrying  on  the  investiga¬ 
tion  thus  mutually  agreed  on. 

The  reports  of  the  investigation  are  issued  in  the  form  of  bulle¬ 
tins,  either  by  the  State  Geological  Survey,  the  Engineering  Experi¬ 
ment  Station,  University  of  Illinois,  or  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Mines.  Eor  copies  of  the  bulletins  issued  by  the  State  and  for  infor¬ 
mation  about  the  work,  address  Coal  Mining  Investigations,  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  III.  For  J)ulletins  issued  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Mines,  address  Director,  United  States  Bureau  of 
Mines,  Washington,  D.  C. 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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ILLINOIS 

COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


State  Geological  Survey 

Engineering  Experiment  Station,  University  of  Illinois 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines 


BULLETIN  14 

Coal  Resources 

OF 

District  VIII  (Danville) 


BY 

FRED  H.  KAY  and  K.  D.  WHITE 
Field  Work  by  K.  D.  White,  Fred  H.  Kay,  and  others 


Printed  by  authority  of  the  State  of  Illinois 


State  Geological  Survey 
University  of  Illinois 
U  r  b  a  n  a 
1915 


1915 


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CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Introduction  .  9 

Importance  of  area .  9 

Production  and  mines  .  9 

Acknowledgments  .  11 

Stratigraphy  .  11 

Method  of  study  .  11 

Coal-bearing  rocks  .  11 

Pottsville  formation  .  11 

Carbondale  formation .  15 

McLeansboro  formation  .  19 

Glacial  features .  21 

Drift .  21 

Pre-glacial  channels  .  22 

Structure .  24 

Definition  .  24 

Method  of  determining  structure .  24 

Structure  contour  map  .  24 

Structure  contours .  24 

Accuracy  of  structure  contours .  25 

Practical  use  of  map .  26 

Structure  of  District  VIII .  26 

Relation  to  general  Illinois  structure .  26 

Structural  features  .  28 

Description  of  structural  cross-sections .  28 

Coal  beds  of  District  VIII .  29 

General  relationships .  29 

Coal  No.  6  (Grape  Creek)  .  31 

Distribution  and  thickness  .  31 

Physical  characteristics  .  39 

Roof  .  41 

Irregularities  in  roof  and  floor .  42 

General  description  .  42 

Origin  .  45 

Floor  .  49 

Coal  No.  7  (Danville)  .  50 

Distribution  and  thickness  .  50 

Physical  characteristics  .  51 

Roof  .  53 

Floor  .  54 

Coal  No.  2 .  54 

Chemical  characteristics  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7 .  54 

(5) 

3^7^8 


PAGE 

Summary  of  coal  resources .  56 

Appendix  .  56 

Stratigraphic  sections  .  56 

Introductory  statement  .  56 

Description  of  section  MN .  57 

Trenton  formation  .  57 

Cincinnatian  formation  .  57 

Niagaran  formation  .  57 

Devonian  formation  .  58 

Carboniferous  formations  .  58 

Description  of  section  HI .  61 

General  structure  .  61 

Cincinnatian  and  Trenton  formations .  61 

Niagaran  formation  .  62 

Devonian  formation  .  62 

Carboniferous  formations  .  62 


(6) 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATE  PAGE 

I.  Graphic  history  of  Danville  region  since  deposition  of  coal  No.  6. . .  16 

II.  Map  of  Vermilion  County  with  special  reference  to  the  depth, 

position,  and  distribution  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7 .  24 

III.  Cross-section  AB  extending  northwest-southeast  through  Danville 

coal  field  .  28 

IV.  Cross-section  CD  and  EF  through  south  and  north  ends  of  Dan¬ 

ville  field  .  32 

V.  Map  of  Edgar  County  showing  location  of  drill  holes .  50 

VI.  Cross-section  MN  showing  characteristics  of  the  pre-Pennsylvanian 

rocks  in  north  half  of  Vermilion  County .  58 

VII.  Cross-section  HI  showing  characteristics  of  pre-Pennsylvanian 

rocks  in  south  part  of  Vermilion  County .  64 

I’lGURE 

1.  Looking  northeast  from  bend  in  Vermilion  River,  N\V.34  sec.  22, 

T.  19  N.,  R.  11  W .  Frontispiece 

2.  Sketch  map  showing  relation  of  District  VIII  to  Eastern  Interior 

coal  field  .  27 

3.  Map  showing  areas  of  thick  and  thin  coal  No.  6 .  30 

4.  Map  showing  areas  of  thick  and  thin  coal  No.  7 .  31 

5.  A  typical  roll  of  the  Danville  district .  43 

6.  Sketch  of  a  roll .  43 

7.  Sketch  of  a  roll  in  Dering  mine  No.  4 .  44 

8.  Sketch  of  a  portion  of  Dering  mine  No.  4  showing  effect  of  rolls 

on  position  of  rooms .  45 

9.  Sketch  of  faulted  roll .  46 

10,  Sketch  showing  compression  of  coaly  matter  and  shale  lens .  48 


(7) 


TABLES 


PAGE 

1.  List  of  shipping  mines  in  Vermilion  County  in  year  ended  June  30, 

1914  .  12 

2.  Drill  records  of  coals  in  Edgar  County .  33 

3.  Thicknesses  and  depths  of  coals  throughout  Vermilion  County .  34-38 

4.  Estimate  of  original  tonnage  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7 .  56 


(8) 


GOAL  RESOURCES  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 

(DANVILLE) 

By  Fred  H.  Kay  and  K.  D.  White 


INTRODUCTION 
Importance  of  the  Area 

There  has  been  extracted  from  Vermilion  and  Edgar  counties 
since  1880  more  than  58,000,000^  tons  of  coal ;  but  in  the  Danville  Dis¬ 
trict  proper,  where  detailed  information  is  available,  more  than  1,494,- 
000,000  tons  remains  in  the  ground.  Both  on  account  of  its  import¬ 
ance  as  a  producer  and  its  geographic  position  (fig.  2),  the  region  was 
selected  as  a  district  of  the  Illinois  Coal  Mining  Investigations.  The 
present  report  is  one  of  a  series  being  prepared  on  the  coal  resources 
of  Illinois. 

Although  Edgar  County  has  produced  only  a  small  amount  of 
coal,  some  of  the  Vermilion  County  beds  underlie  this  county,  and  it 
may  be  regarded  as  a  connecting  link  between  the  Indiana  fields  to  the 
east  and  the  Danville  field  to  the  north.  Coal  No.  6,  locally  called  the 
Grape  Creek  coal,  is  most  actively  mined  in  the  vicinity  of  Westville ; 
coal  No.  7  or  the  Danville  coal  is  mined  near  Danville  and  Eairmount. 
These  are  the  only  beds  commercially  utilized  at  present.  Early 
mining  was  principally  in  the  Danville  bed,  but  the  largest  mines 
now  operate  in  the  Grape  Creek  coal. 

Production  and  Mines 


Production  in  tons,  year  ended  June  30,  191T .  2,983,591 

Production  in  tons,  year  ended  June  30,  1913^ .  3,510,661 

Average  annual  production,  1910-19142 .  3,034  508 

Total  production,  1881-1913  (calendar  year)^ .  57,908,547 


During  the  year  ended  June  30,  1914,  Vermilion  County  produced 
4.9  per  cent  of  the  total  output  for  the  State.  Thirty-five  mines  were 
in  operation,  13  of  which  were  shipping  mines.  Of  the  total  produc¬ 
tion,  coal  No.  6  (Grape  Creek)  furnished  2,410,045  tons,  whereas 
coal  No.  7  (Danville)  contributed  only  573,546  tons.  Table  1  is  a 
list  of  shipping  mines  in  Vermilion  County  in  the  year  ended  June  30, 
1913. 


’Statistics  from  U.  S.  Ceol.  Survey  Mineral  Resources. 
^Statistics  from  reports  of  State  Mining  Hoard. 
^Statistics  from  Mineral  Resources,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey. 


Fig.  1 — Looking  northeast  from  bend  in  Vermilion  River,  N.W.  sec.  22. 

and  dips  west. 


STRATIGRAPHY 


11 


Acknowledgments 

The  authors  wish  to  acknowledge  their  indebtedness  to  the  men 
connected  with  mining  industry  in  Vermilion  County  for  the  generous 
cooperation  which  has  made  the  report  possible.  A  large  number  of 
drill  records  have  been  furnished  by  the  Bunsen  Coal  Co.,  C.  C.  C.  & 
St.  L.  R.  R.,  Two  Rivers  Coal  Co.,  C.  L.  English,  Western  Brick 
Co.,  Hegler  Bros.,  and  the  Danville  Belt  Coal  Co. 

The  mines  have  been  opened  freely  and  the  work  has  been  facil¬ 
itated  by  uniform  courtesy  both  in  the  offices  and  underground. 
Special  thanks  for  many  favors  are  due  Messrs.  DuBois  and  Jones 
of  Dering  Coal  Co.,  and  to  Mr.  Webb  of  the  Danville  Belt  Coal  Co. 

The  Danville  folio  by  M.  R.  CampbelB  has  been  of  great  use  and 
has  been  drawn  upon  freely. 

STRATIGRAPHY 
Method  of  Study 

Below  the  glacial  drift  the  district  is  underlain  by  Pennsylvanian 
strata  (“Coal  Measures’’),  some  of  which  outcrop  along  Vermilion 
River,  North  Fork,  Little  Vermilion,  and  a  few  of  the  smaller  creeks. 
The  beds  which  may  be  studied  on  the  outcrop  are  but  a  small  part  of 
the  series,  and  over  most  of  the  district,  only  records  of  wells,  mine 
shafts,  and  drill  holes  furnish  knowledge  of  the  stratigraphy. 

Since  this  report  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  coal  resources,  the 
rocks  underlying  the  “Coal  Measures’’  are  treated  only  in  a  brief 
manner.  The  general  characteristics  of  these  lower  rocks  may  be 
seen  by  reference  to  the  graphic  sections  in  Plates  VI  and  VII  which 
are  described  in  the  Appendix. 

Coal-bearing  Rocks 

The  coal-bearing  rocks  of  Illinois  are  divided  by  geologists  into 
three  formations  named  in  ascending  order :  Pottsville,  Carbondale, 
and  McLeansboro. 

POTTSVILLE  FORMATION 

The  Pottsville  formation  is  a  series  of  sandstones,  shales,  and 
thin  coals,  comprising  the  base  of  the  “Coal  Measures”.  The  name 
is  applied  to  the  beds  above  the  Mississippian  formations  and  below 
coal  No.  2.  The  Pottsville  beds  were  deposited  upon  an  old  land 
surface  and  are  consequently  variable  in  thickness  and  in  composition. 

Sandstone  is  the  predominating  constituent  of  this  formation  and 
ranges  from  fine-grained  material  to  typical  conglomerate.  Its  com¬ 
position  is  so  irregular,  however,  that  no  definite  character  can  he 


^Campbell,  M.  R.,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Geol.  Atlas,  Danville  folio  (No.  67),  1900. 


Table  1. — List  of  shipping  7nines  in  Vermilion  County  for  year  ended  June  30,  1913 


12 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


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STRATIGRAPHY 


13 


assigned  to  it.  The  study  of  a  large  number  of  records  shows  that 
individual  beds  of  sandstone  or  shale  can  be  traced  but  a  short  dis¬ 
tance,  that  one  grades  into  the  other  laterally,  that  in  one  place  the 
entire  formation  is  represented  by  sandstone,  whereas  in  another  the 
sandy  beds  are  almost  absent.  A  few  thin  coals  lie  within  the  Potts- 
ville,  but  they  have  been  explored  in  only  a  few  places,  and  their 
correlation  presents  great  difficulties.  Most  of  the  drill  records  show' 
one  or  more  unimportant  coals  in  this  part  of  the  section,  the  most 
important  of  which  lies  90  feet  below  the  top  of  the  formation  and 
averages  1  foot  in  thickness.  Drill  hole  No.  47  of  the  Dering  Coal 
Co.,  sec.  18,  T.  18  N.,  R.  11  W. ;  and  No.  51,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R., 
sec.  6,  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  W.  (see  page  17)  show  the  Pottsville  to  be  of 
281  and  362  feet  thick,  respectively.  In  other  parts  of  the  district,  as 
at  Allerton  and  in  sec.  26,  T.  17  N.,  R.  13  W.  in  the  western  part  of 
the  area,  only  a  small  thickness  of  coal-bearing  rocks  underlies  the 
drift,  pre-Pennsylvanian  formations  being  only  a  short  distance  below 
the  surface  materials.  Further  west  in  the  vicinity  of  Mahomet, 
Champaign  County,  no  ‘‘Coal  Measures'’  rocks  are  present  below  the 
drift,  the  first  bed  rock  being  of  Devonian  age. 

The  thinning  of  the  Pottsville  west  and  north  indicates  that  it 
w^as  deposited  in  a  basin  which  the  sea  probably  did  not  fill,  or  that 
it  suffered  erosion  after  deposition.  The  character  of  the  formation 
is  indicated  by  the  following  drill  record. 

Record  of  drill  hole  No.  4y,  Bering  Coal  Co.,  NE.%  NlV.j4  iS,  T.  i8  N., 

R.  II  W. 

(Elevation — 689  feet) 

See  Plate  III,  No.  8 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Drift— 

Surface  soil  and  clay . 

8 

,  , 

8 

Sand  . 

41 

49 

McLeansboro  formation — 

Shale,  blue  . 

41 

90 

“Slate”,  blue  . 

11 

6 

101 

6 

Coal  No.  7 . 

3 

6 

105 

Fire  clay  . 

5 

no 

Shale,  sandv  . 

10 

120 

Sandstone  . 

44 

164 

Shale,  blue  . 

25 

189 

“Slate”,  blue . 

13 

9 

202 

9 

Carbondale  formation — 

Coal  No.  6 . 

7 

3 

210 

14 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Fire  clay  . 

4 

6 

214 

6 

Limestone  . 

3 

217 

6 

Shale,  gray  . 

66 

,  , 

283 

6 

Shale,  blue  . 

2 

6 

286 

Sandstone  . 

58 

,  , 

344 

Limestone  . 

2 

346 

,  , 

Shale,  light  . 

4 

,  , 

350 

,  , 

Sandstone  . 

47 

8 

397 

8 

Coal  . 

1 

10 

399 

6 

Fire  clay  . 

1 

6 

401 

Sandstone  . 

11 

412 

Shale,  light . 

2 

,  , 

414 

•  , 

Sandstone  . 

2 

6 

416 

6 

“Slate”,  black . 

9 

417 

3 

Coal  . 

Pottsville  formation — 

2 

6 

419 

9 

Sandstone  . 

20 

3 

440 

Shale,  blue  . 

14 

454 

Sandstone  . 

11 

465 

Shale,  blue  . 

1 

466 

Limestone  . 

7 

473 

“Slate”,  sandy  . 

6 

479 

Sandstone  . 

12 

491 

Shale,  blue  and  brown . 

17 

8 

508 

8 

Coal  . 

1 

3 

509 

11 

Fire  clay' . 

1 

7 

511 

6 

Sandstone  . 

2 

6 

514 

,  , 

“Slate”,  black  . 

4 

518 

,  , 

“Slate”,  blue . 

9 

527 

Sandstone  . 

173 

700 

In  the  boring  described  above  the  upper  part  of  the  formation  is 
composed  of  shales  and  sandstones,  and  the  lower  part  consists  of 
a  massive  sandstone,  the  thickness  of  which  is  170  feet  and  150  feet 
respectively.  It  is  reported  that  a  small  amount  of  gas  was  found 
in  drill  hole  No.  51,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R. 

The  top  and  bottom  of  the  Pottsville  are  not  easily  determined 
in  the  district  since  the  “Mud  Vein,”  which  is  probably  the  same  as 
coal  No.  2  at  the  top  of  the  formation,  is  not  everywhere  reported. 
At  the  base  of  the  Pottsville,  the  thick  Mississippian  limestones,  so 
prominent  in  western  Indiana  and  in  parts  of  Illinois,  seem  to  have 
been  removed  by  erosion  before  the  deposition  of  the  “Coal  ]\Ieasures”. 
Consequently,  the  Pottsville  rests  on  a  series  of  shales,  sandstones, 
and  thin  limestones,  not  unlike  the  lower  coal-bearing  rocks. 


STRATIGRAPHY 


15 


CARBONDALE  FORMATION 

The  Carbondale  formation  extends  from  the  base  of  coal  No.  2 
up  to  the  top  of  coal  No.  6.  The  Grape  Creek  coal  is  correlated  with 
coal  No.  6  largely  because  of  the  similarity  between  the  fossil  plants 
in  the  roof  shales  in  the  Danville  field  and  in  the  roof  of  typical  coal 
No.  6  of  southern  Illinois.®  Likewise  the  “Mud  Vein”,  so  called  be¬ 
cause  of  its  division  into  several  benches  by  layers  of  shale,  is  corre¬ 
lated  tentatively  with  coal  No.  2  (Murphysboro)  mainly  because  of 
its  position  in  the  “Coal  Measures”.  Its  distance  below  coal  No.  6 
in  District  VIII,  and  consequently  the  thickness  of  the  Carbondale 
formation,  varies  from  165  feet  to  about  220  feet  and  averages  about 
185  feet.  In  other  parts  of  the  State  these  beds  are  from  200  feet  to 
250  feet  apart,  and  in  Saline  County  300  feet  is  not  an  unusual  dis¬ 
tance,  the  additional  thickness  of  beds  being  attributed  to  the  interval 
between  coals  No.  5  and  No.  6  which  is  50  feet  greater  than  in  other 
parts  of  the  State. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Vermilion  County  and  the  western  part 
of  Vermilion  and  Edgar  counties,  the  lowermost  beds  of  the  Carbon¬ 
dale  were  either  never  deposited,  or  they  were  eroded  after  deposition 
as  shown  in  Plate  I. 

Such  conditions  are  shown  in  drill  holes  at  Reilly,  and  Rankin 
in  the  north,  and  near  Allerton  at  the  west.  In  this  same  part  of 
the  area  the  top  beds  of  the  formation  were  eroded  before  glacial 
times. 

The  Carbondale  as  a  whole  is  composed  of  shale  and  sandstone 
interbedded  with  a  few  layers  of  limestone,  coal,  and  carbonaceous 
shale.  A  few  feet  below  coal  No.  6  lies  a  thin,  but  persistent,  lime¬ 
stone  which  serves  as  a  marker  in  several  drill  records  in  which  the 
coal  is  absent.  Clay  shales,  80  to  100  feet  thick,  underlie  the  lime¬ 
stone.  The  next  lower  bed  is  a  black,  carbonaceous  shale  averaging 
8  feet  in  thickness.  A  number  of  records  show  a  thin  limestone  120 
to  140  feet  below  the  top  of  the  formation  and  a  short  distance  above 
the  black  shale  mentioned.  The  following  drill  records  together  with 
the  cross-sections  (Pis.  Ill  and  IV)  furnish  detailed  information  re¬ 
garding  the  character  of  the  Carbondale. 

Coal  No.  6  (Grape  Creek)  at  the  top  of  the  formation  is  variable 
in  thickness.  It  is  the  best  known  in  Vermilion  County  where  it  is 
actively  mined.  In  this  region  it  has  an  average  thickness  of  6  feet ; 
whereas  to  the  north,  west,  and  southwest  of  Danville  its  thickness 
decreases  materially.  It  has  not  been  positively  identified  south  of 
the  Vermilion-Edgar  county  line.  The  scarcity  of  drill  holes  south 


“White,  David,  Paleobotanical  studies:  Ill.  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  14,  pp.  293-295,  1909. 


16 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


of  Ridge  Farm  is  probably  responsible  for  the  lack  of  identification, 
and  later  it  will  no  doubt  be  possible  to  correlate  with  coal  No.  6  one 
of  the  thin  coals  in  the  southern  part  of  T.  16  N.,  Rs.  10  and  11  W. 
and  to  trace  this  bed  across  the  boundary  into  Indiana. 

Record  of  Electric  mine  shaft,  Electric  Coal  Co.,  SIV.  cor.  SE.]/4  NIV.%  sec.  lo, 

T.  IQ  N.,  R  12  W . 


(Elevation — 654  feet) 
See  Plate  III,  No.  13 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Et. 

In. 

Et. 

In. 

Drift — 

Surface  . 

8 

.  • 

8 

•  . 

Hardpan  . 

30 

.  • 

38 

•  . 

McLeansboro  formation — 

Sand,  slate,  and  limestone . 

59 

6 

89 

6 

Coal  No.  7 . 

5 

7 

95 

1 

Clay  . 

4 

11 

100 

Shale,  sandy  . 

7 

107 

Hard  rock  . 

4 

111 

“Slate”,  black  . 

2 

113 

Shale,  sandy  . 

4 

117 

Rock  . 

2 

119 

Shale,  blue  . 

47 

166 

“Slate”,  brown . 

11 

4 

176 

4 

Carbondale  formation — 

Coal  No.  6 . 

,  , 

8 

\77 

Shale,  sandy  . . . 

13 

190 

Shale,  blue  . 

30 

220 

“Slate”,  black  . 

10 

230 

Clay . 

2 

232 

Shale,  blue  . 

10 

242 

“Slate”,  brown . 

2 

244 

“Slate”  and  smut . 

3 

247 

Clay  . 

2 

249 

Shale,  light . 

1 

250 

Limestone  . 

2 

252 

Shale,  sandy . 

9 

261 

“Slate”,  black . 

3 

264 

Shale,  blue  . 

10 

274 

“Slate”,  black  . 

2 

276 

Coal  . 

1 

3 

277 

3 

Clay  . 

3 

9 

281 

.  • 

Shale,  light . 

6 

•  • 

287 

.  . 

Shale,  blue  . 

3 

6 

290 

6 

“Slate”,  brown  . 

5 

•  • 

295 

6 

Coal  . 

3 

,  , 

298 

6 

Clay,  brown  . 

1 

•  • 

299 

6 

“Slate”,  black . 

2 

301 

6 

ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


BULLETIN  14,  PLATE  I 


Graphic  history  of  Danville  region  since  deposition  of  coal  No.  6 


The  diagrams  are  cross-sections  which  extend  from  the  northern  border  of  the  Danville  field  to  the  southern  edge  of  the  county.  The  vertical 
scale  is  exaggerated  several  times,  in  order  to  show  the  details  of  deposition  and  compression  of  the  vegetal  matter. 

A  shows  a  basin  which  the  vegetal  matter  of  coal  No.  6  accumulated.  Conditions  for  growth  were  more  favorable  at  the  south  than  at  the  edge 
of  the  swamp  toward  the  north.  In  B  the  region  subsided  below  the  level  of  the  sea  and  muds  were  deposited  on  the  carbonaceous  material  and 
subjected  it  to  pressure..  At  the  south  the  greater  thickness  of  highly  compressible  peat  permitted  greater  subsidence  and  a  larger  accumulation  of 
muds  than  at  the  north  where  the  floor  of  the  sea  was  soon  built  up  to  form  land  surface  and  vegetal  growth  for  coal  No.  7  began,  as  shown  in 
C.  As  the  sea  became  shallow  because  of  deposition,  vegetation  encroached  southward  (D)  but  the  final  result  was  a  decreasing  amount  of  coal¬ 
forming  material  toward  the  south.  The  sea  again  invaded  the  region  (E),  put  an  end  to  vegetal  growth,  and  permitted  an  accumulation  of  muds. 
This  sequence  of  events  resulted  in  the  formation  of  two  coal  beds,  the  thicker  portion  of  one  coinciding  in  position  with  the  thinner  portion  of  the 
other. 

Later  (F),  the  region  rose  above  the  level  of  the  sea  and  was  subjected  to  erosion.  Some  of  the  streams  cut  their  valleys  down  throug 
the  coals.  Subsequently,  the  glacial  drift  (G)  tended  to  fill  up  the  irregularities  in  the  old  surface,  but  the  present  topography  (H)  is  the  result  of 
erosion  since  glacial  times.  Some  of  the  streams  have  again  cut  their  valleys  down  through  the  coals. 


STRATIGRAPHY 


17 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Coal  . 

2 

4 

303 

10 

Shale,  clayey  . 

14 

2 

318 

Sandstone  . 

4 

322 

Shale,  blue  . 

14 

336 

Shale,  light . 

13 

349 

“Slate”,  dark  brown  . 

11 

360 

Shale,  light  . 

7 

367 

Pottsville  formation — 

i 

Coal  and  “slate” . 

1 

6 

368  j 

6 

Shale,  blue  . 

6 

6 

375 

•  • 

Sandstone  . 

6 

•  • 

381 

•  • 

“Slate”,  sandy  . 

10 

•  • 

391 

•  . 

Coal  and  “slate” . 

2 

•  . 

393 

.  . 

Shale,  brown  . . 

2 

4 

395 

4 

Coal  . 

6 

395 

10 

Clay  . 

4 

•  • 

399 

10 

Shale,  blue  . 

8 

•  • 

407 

•  • 

Sandstone  . 

15 

6 

422 

6 

Record  of  drill  hole  No.  51,  C.  C.  C.  and 

St.  L.  R.R.,  NW.y^  NW.y  sec.  6, 

T.  20  N.,  R. 

12  W. 

(Elevation — 

584  feet) 

See  Plate  III, 

No.  23 

Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Sand  and  gravel . 

8 

8 

Clay,  blue  . 

10 

18 

Clay,  yellow  . 

22 

40 

Sand  . 

2 

42 

Clay,  sandy . 

12 

54 

Clay,  blue  . 

4 

58 

Sand  . 

4 

62 

Clay,  blue  . 

57 

118 

Coal  No.  7 . 

4 

8 

122 

8 

Shale,  gray  . 

15 

137 

8 

Sandstone  . 

4 

141 

8 

Shale,  black  . 

1 

4 

143 

Carbondale  formation — 

Coal  No.  6 . 

2 

145 

Shale,  gray  . 

8 

153 

Limestone  . 

6 

159 

Shale,  blue  . 

2 

161 

Sandstone  . 

10 

171 

Shale,  blue  . 

50 

221 

Shale,  black,  carbonaceous . 

3 

6 

224 

6 

Shale,  light  gray . 

51 

6 

276 

18 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Shale,  black  . 

1 

277 

Shale,  blue  . 

2 

279 

Shale,  black  . 

1 

280 

Shale,  brown  . 

6 

286 

Limestone  . 

6 

292 

Shale,  dark  blue . 

16 

308 

Shale,  black  . 

,  , 

6 

308 

6 

Shale,  blue  . 

8 

6 

317 

,  , 

Shale,  black  . 

,  * 

4 

317 

4 

Coal  . 

6 

317 

10 

Shale,  gray  . 

6 

•  . 

323 

10 

Coal  . 

6 

324 

4 

Shale,  blue  . 

12 

336 

4 

Shale,  black  . 

3 

339 

4 

Coal  . 

Pottsville  formation  (  ?)  — 

2 

8 

342 

Shale,  blue  . 

2 

6 

344 

6 

Limestone  . 

1 

345 

6 

Shale,  gray . 

2 

•  . 

347 

6 

Coal  . 

2 

1 

349 

7 

Shale,  blue,  sandy . 

20 

5 

370 

•  . 

Sandstone  . 

4 

374 

.  . 

Shale,  dark  blue,  sandv . 

21 

395 

•  . 

Shale,  dark  blue . 

17 

412 

•  • 

Coal  . 

,  , 

4 

412 

4 

Shale,  white  . 

5 

417 

4 

Shale,  black  and  white  alternately... 

11 

428 

4 

Shale,  white  . 

8 

436 

4 

Limestone,  blue . 

6 

442 

4 

Sandstone,  white  . 

4 

466 

4 

Shale,  black  . 

8 

447 

•  • 

Coal  . 

1 

448 

•  • 

Shale,  green  . 

•  • 

4 

448 

4 

Sandstone,  white,  green  streaks . 

19 

467 

4 

Limestone,  hard,  cherty . 

20 

487 

4 

Chert  . 

•  , 

9 

488 

1 

Limestone  . 

8 

496 

1 

Shale,  dark  blue,  sandy . 

Shale,  dark  blue,  sandy,  streaks  of 

24 

520 

1 

stone  . 

21 

541 

1 

Shale,  blue  and  green . 

10 

11(?) 

552 

•  • 

Limestone,  blue . 

4 

556 

•  • 

Sandstone  . 

Sandstone,  calcareous,  dark  blue,  (oil 

48 

604 

and  gas)  . 

46 

650 

•  • 

Sandstone  . 

Mississippian  group — 

54 

704 

Shale,  blue,  sandy . 

64 

768 

STRATIGRAPHY 


19 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Limestone  . 

16 

•  • 

784 

•  . 

Shale,  blue  . 

2 

.  • 

786 

•  • 

Limestone  . 

6 

•  • 

792 

•  . 

Black  streak . 

•  • 

2 

792 

3 

Shale,  blue,  calcareous  mottled . 

95 

.  • 

887 

.  . 

Limestone,  white,  cherty . 

4 

.  • 

891 

.  . 

Shale,  blue  and  white  mottled,  sandy 

84 

•  • 

975 

.  . 

Shale,  blue  . 

25 

1000 

3 

MCLEANSBORO  FORMATION 

The  McLeansboro  formation  includes  all  of  the  “Coal  Measures” 
rocks  above  coal  No.  6.  It  takes  its  name  from  McLeansboro,  Ham¬ 
ilton  County,  where  borings  have  penetrated  it  to  a  depth  of  1000 
feet.  In  the  area  under  consideration,  its  maximum  known  thickness 
is  about  240  feet,  and  in  places  the  entire  formation  was  removed 
by  erosion  before  glacial  times. 

East  of  North  Fork  near  Danville  all  of  the  McLeansboro  and 
most  of  the  Carbondale  is  absent,  and  its  place  is  occupied  by  glacial 
drift.  West  along  the  line  represented  by  the  cross-section  EF  (PI. 
IV)  not  more  than  80  feet  of  McL.eansboro  beds  remains.  In  the 
southern  part  of  the  Danville  district  proper,  along  the  line  repre¬ 
sented  by  cross-section  CD,  as  much  as  180  feet  of  the  formation 
underlies  the  drift. 

The  McLeansboro  formation  is  composed  of  shales  which  are 
sandy  in  places,  a  few  beds  of  sandstone,  and  one  commercial  bed 
of  coal.  No.  7,  which  is  mined  in  the  vicinity  of  Danville  and  Fair- 
mount.  North  of  an  east-west  line  through  the  southern  part  of 
T.  19  N.,  Rs.  11  and  12  W.  coal  No.  7  has  an  average  thickness  of 
more  than  5  feet,  whereas  south  of  the  same  line  the  thickness  de¬ 
creases  at  a  somewhat  regular  rate  to  an  average  of  2  feet  8  inches. 
The  interval  between  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7  is  occupied  largely  by 
sandy  shale,  although  lenticular  beds  of  limestone  are  present  in 
places.  Northwest  of  Danville  the  two  coals  are  20  to  30  feet  apart, 
whereas  toward  the  south  and  west  the  interval  increases  at  a  rather 
uniform  rate,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Vermilion  Grove  80  to  90  feet 
is  not  uncommon. 

Plate  I  has  been  prepared  to  show  graphically  the  history  of  the 
Danville  region  since  the  deposition  of  coal  No.  6.  It  explains  not 
only  the  thickening  interval  between  the  coals  toward  the  south  and 
southwest,  but  also  the  fact  that  where  coal  No.  6  is  thick,  coal  No.  7 
is  thin,  and  the  interval  between  the  two  is  greatest. 


20 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


The  general  character  of  the  McLeansboro  formation  is  shown 
in  Plates  III  and  IV  and  in  the  following  detailed  logs. 

Record  of  drill  hole  No.  120,  Dering  Coal  Co.,  SW.  cor.  SE.%  SW.y^  sec.  12, 

T.  17  N.,  R.  13  W. 

(Elevation — 672  feet) 

See  Plate  IV,  section  CD,  No.  1 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Drift— 

Soil  . 

4 

4 

Clay  . 

21 

25 

Clay,  blue  . 

5 

30 

Gravel  . 

3 

33 

Shale,  sandy . 

35 

68 

Gravel  . 

10 

78 

Clay,  dark  . 

85 

163 

McLeansboro  formation — 

Rock  . 

2 

165 

Shale,  blue  . 

15 

180 

Shale,  calcareous  . 

60 

240 

Gravel  . 

2 

242 

Shale,  blue  . 

5 

247 

Rock,  broken  . 

13 

260 

Shale,  dark . 

25 

285 

Shale,  black  . . 

1 

286 

Shale,  dark  . 

4 

290 

Shale,  black  . 

7 

297 

Coal  No.  7 . 

4 

6 

301 

6 

Shale,  dark . 

6 

302 

Record  of  drill  hole  No.  12,  Dering  Coal  Co.,  SW.y  SW.y  sec.  4,  T.  17 

R.  12  W. 


(Elevation — 672  feet) 

See  Plate  IV,  section  CD,  No.  3 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Drift— 

Soil  . 

2 

2 

Clay,  yellow . .  . 

10 

•  * 

12 

Clay,  blue  . 

2 

.  . 

14 

Sand  (water)  . 

8 

•  . 

22 

Gravel  . 

20 

42 

Clay,  dark . 

19 

•  . 

61 

McLeansboro  formation — 

Sandstone  . 

27 

•  • 

88 

•  . 

Shale  . 

9 

97 

STRATIGRAPHY 


21 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft.  In. 

Sandstone,  trace  of  shale . 

48 

•  • 

145 

Shale,  dark . 

42 

•  • 

187 

Shale,  black,  soft . 

6 

•  . 

193 

Coal  No.  7 . 

3 

7 

196  7 

Clay,  light,  soft . 

10 

3(?) 

207 

Shale,  sandy . 

32 

•  . 

245 

Shale,  light,  soft . 

2 

•  • 

247 

Carbondale  formation — 

Coal  No.  6 . 

5 

4 

253  4 

Clay,  light . 

3 

8(?) 

257 

Shale,  light,  hard . 

1 

258 

Record  of  drill  hole  No.  45,  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.,  NE.%  SIV.J4  7,  T.  20  N., 

R.  12  W. 

(Elevation — 632  feet) 

See  Plate  III,  No.  22 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Drift— 

Soil  . . . 

1 

1 

Sand  and  gravel . 

56 

,  , 

57 

Clay  . 

7 

,  • 

64 

McLeansboro  formation — 

Shale,  blue  . 

63 

8 

127 

8 

Coal  No.  7 . 

5 

7 

133 

3 

Shale,  gray  . 

1 

3 

134 

6 

Shale,  black  . 

1 

134 

7 

Shale,  gray  . 

15 

149 

7 

Coal  . 

,  , 

1 

149 

8 

Shale,  gray  . 

9 

•  « 

158 

8 

Coal  . 

,  , 

4 

159 

Shale,  gray  . 

2 

161 

“Slate”,  black . 

5 

166 

Carbondale  formation — 

Coal  No.  6 . 

9 

3 

175 

3 

Shale,  gray,  sandy . 

19 

9 

195 

•  • 

Glacial  Features 

DRIFT 

Overlying  the  bed  rock  throughout  the  district  is  a  mass  of  un¬ 
consolidated  clays,  sands,  and  gravels  which  varies  in  thickness  from 
a  few  feet  to  about  250  feet.  This  glacial  drift,  as  it  is  called,  con¬ 
tains  many  bowlders  of  Canadian  origin,  as  well  as  fragments  of  lime¬ 
stone  from  northern  Illinois,  a  characteristic  showing  that  it  was 


22 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


transported  to  this  region  and  deposited  as  an  unassorted  mass  upon 
a  surface  consisting  of  hills  and  valleys  which  showed  greater  relief 
than  those  of  today  in  the  district  under  consideration. 

The  results  of  two  different  ice  invasions  have  been  recognized 
in  District  VIII.  The  oldest  drift,  the  Illinoian,  extends  100  miles 
south  of  this  area  and  is  overlain  by  a  rather  uniform  thickness  of  a 
later  drift  sheet,  the  Wisconsin,  which  conceals  the  older  drift  except 
in  the  deeper  valleys.  The  pre-glacial  valleys  are  filled  largely  with 
the  earlier  deposits  which  tended  to  make  a  smooth  topography  upon 
which  the  Wisconsin  drift  was  later  laid  down. 

PRE-GLACIAL  CHANNELS 

The  following  description  of  drainage  features  is  taken  from 
geologic  folio  No.  67  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  by  'SI.  R.  Campbell 
and  Frank  Leverett: 

The  narrowness  and  the  rocky  character  of  the  Vermilion  River  clearly 
indicate  that  the  present  course  of  the  stream  is  of  recent  date  and  that  it  does 
not  necessarily  correspond  with  any  drainage  line  which  existed  in  pre-Pleistocene 
time.  It  is  not  known  positively  that  any  drilled  wells  have  yet  reached  the 
bottom  of  the  valley  in  which  flowed  the  old  Vermilion  River,  but  its  position 
is  indicated  by  the  great  depth  of  drift  found  in  the  well  at  Danville  Junction. 
The  altitude  of  the  rock  floor  at  this  point  is  435  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
The  well  recently  drilled  at  the  Soldiers’  Home  reached  solid  rock  at  an  altitude 
of  480  feet,  and  a  well  drilled  a  number  of  years  ago  near  the  depot  at  Grape 
Creek  reached  the  rock  floor  at  about  470  feet  above  sea  level.  These  wells 
show  a  much  lower  rock  surface  than  that  which  is  found  south  of  the  river, 
and  they  are  also  found  slightly  below  the  level  of  the  rock  floor  northeast  of 
Danville.  Three  wells  in  Newell  Township  reached  the  rock  at  an  altitude  of 
about  430  feet,  one  at  528  feet,  one  at  520  feet,  one  at  515  feet,  and  one  at  480 
feet.  From  these  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  rather  deep  valley  in 
the  vicinity  of  Danville  Junction,  and  presumably  this  valley  extends  southeast¬ 
ward  along  the  course  of  Stony  Creek  and  Vermilion  River  to  the  mouth  of 
Grape  Creek.  The  sharp,  rocky  gorge  which  the  river  enters  on  leaving  the 
great  alluvial  amphitheater  at  this  point  shows  that  the  course  of  the  old  stream 
must  have  been  different  from  that  which  the  river  occupies  at  present.  The 
drill  hole  at  Grape  Creek  station  is  located  on  the  extreme  edge  of  the  valley 
and  consequently  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  represents  the  full  depth  of  the  old 
channel  in  this  vicinity.  Unfortunately  there  has  been  no  drilling  in  the  center 
of  this  wide  flat,  and  one  can  only  surmise  the  depth  to  which  the  rocky  strata 
have  been  eroded.  The  old  valley  turned  at  this  point  and  presumably  pursued 
an  easterly  direction  beyond  the  margin  of  this  quadrangle. 

There  is  no  evidence  of  reversal  or  any  such  decided  change  in  the  drainage 
of  this  region.  It  is  simply  a  case  of  readjustment  to  new  conditions  along 
practically  the  same  lines  that  the  streams  occupied  before  the  advent  of  the 
ice.  During  the  time  of  maximum  glaciation  the  streams  were  probably  entirely 
arrested  by  the  ice,  but  upon  its  retreat  they  formed  along  lines  of  least  resist¬ 
ance,  which  in  this  case  appear  to  have  been  nearly  in  their  former  courses. 
The  ice  front  occupied  a  nearly  east-west  position,  hence  the  southern  parts  of 


STRATIGRAPHY 


23 


the  valleys  would  be  open  first,  and  here  the  streams  generally  formed.  When 
the  ice  had  retreated  to  about  the  position  of  Danville  the  water  from  its  melting 
front  found  a  channel  along  the  present  course  of  the  Vermilion,  more  than 
half  way  up  the  rocky  side  of  its  old  valley.  Toward  the  south  the  high  rock 
floor  interposed  a  barrier  to  the  pathway  of  the  stream,  but  it  pursued  its  course 
parallel  to,  that  highland  and  just  at  its  foot.  Doubtless  the  streams  were  at 
first  located  upon  glacial  drift  only;  as  time  advanced  they  eroded  their  channels 
and  encountered  the  solid  rock,  but  their  pathway  was  selected,  and  they 
persisted  in  it  despite  the  solid  rock  through  which  they  had  to  cut,  even  though 
only  a  short  distance  to  the  northeast  there  was  a  channel  already  cut  through 
the  solid  rock  to  a  greater  depth  than  the  one  which  they  now  occupy.  The 
pre-Pleistocene  river  flowed  east  and  probably  joined  the  Wabash,  and  the 
modern  stream  has  followed  in  nearly  the  same  course. 

North  and  west  of  Danville  the  old  topography  is  not  so  easy  to  study, 
for  the  creeks  have  not  yet  cut  down  to  solid  rock  except  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Danville,  and  only  a  few  wells  have  reached  the  original  rock  floor. 
There  seems  to  be  a  general  depression  in  this  rocky  floor  along  a  line  running 
directly  northwest  from  Danville,  for  in  sec.  16,  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  W.,  solid 
rock  was  struck  at  an  altitude  of  470  feet,  whereas  in  sec.  32,  T.  21  N.,  R.  12  W., 
a  well  reached  rock  at  an  altitude  of  525  feet.  It  seems  probable,  therefore, 
that  the  western  fork  of  the  old  river  entered  this  territory  near  where  the 
present  Middle  Fork  enters,  flowed  southeast,  and  north  of  Danville  joined 
another  fork  which  occupied  a  slight  depression  along  approximately  the  present 
line  of  North  Fork. 

This  rather  extensive  drainage  system  in  the  northern  part  of  the  quad¬ 
rangle  is  responsible  for  the  lowness  of  the  rocky  floor  in  that  region,  and 
hence  is  indirectly  responsible  for  the  deep  filling  of  drift  that  occurs  there 
and  for  the  absence  of  the  coal  beds  which  are  so  important  in  the  territory 
south  of  the  river.  In  the  extreme  northeastern  part  of  the  quadrangle  the 
height  of  the  rock  floor  is  not  known  since  all  the  deep  wells  in  that  region 
have  failed  to  reach  solid  rock.  It  shows,  however,  along  Wabash  River  in 
the  vicinity  of  Covington  at  an  altitude  of  about  500  feet,  hence  it  seems  probable 
that  it  is  about  the  same  in  the  vicinity  of  State  Line. 

The  sudden  termination  toward  the  east  of  the  productive  coal,  as  shown 
on  the  economic  map,  is  due  to  the  erosion  of  the  rocks  and  the  coal  beds  to 
a  plane  below  the  level  of  the  latter.  The  outlines  are  only  approximately 
correct,  and  hence  do  not  represent  the  actual  rugosities  of  the  pre-Pleistocene 
topography.  In  Danville  the  coal  beds  are  similarly  cut  away  by  early  erosion, 
so  that  the  beds  which  are  prominent  along  the  river  bluff  on  the  south¬ 
western  side  of  the  city  are  not  present  in  the  northeastern  part.  In  this  locality 
the  change  is  very  abrupt  and  striking,  and  its  existence  has  been  verified  again 
and  again  by  the  many  wells  that  have  been  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  coal 
beds  without  encountering  solid  rock. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  the  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R. 
has  drilled  a  large  number  of  holes  southwest  of  Danville  in  T.  20  N., 
R.  12  W.  The  rock  surface  in  many  of  these  holes  is  not  more  than 
500  feet  above  sea  level,  whereas  in  T.  19  N.,  R.  12  W.  it  averages 
more  than  600  feet.  The  former  low  area  is  no  doubt  a  continuation 
of  the  one  northeast  and  southeast  of  Danville. 


24 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


For  a  knowledge  of  the  Ordovician,  Silurian,  Devonian,  and 
Mississippian  formations  which  underlie  the  coal-bearing  rocks  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  Appendix  (page  56). 

STRUCTURE 

Definition 

The  term  geologic  structure  is  used  to  denote  the  attitude  or 

“lay”  of  rock  beds.  It  is  common  belief  that  in  Illinois  all  of  the 

formations  are  horizontal.  This  belief  is  due  to  the  gentleness  of 
dips  over  most  of  the  State,  and  also  to  the  surficial  drift  cover,  which 
obscures  the  underlying  formations.  It  is  only  upon  studying  large 
areas  in  detail  that  the  real  structure  may  be  determined. 

Method  of  Determining  Structures 

The  two-color  map  (PI.  II)  was  prepared  for  the  purpose  of 

showing  the  position  of  the  beds  underlying  Vermilion  County.  In 

favorable  regions  a  map  would  be  prepared  from  data  collected  at 
the  outcrops  of  the  different  formations,  but  as  has  been  mentioned, 
over  most  of  the  region  all  the  beds  are  covered  by  unconsolidated 
sands,  clays,  and  gravels,  known  as  glacial  drift.  In  such  an  area 
it  is  necessary  to  collect  and  study  all  available  data  from  drill  records. 
On  Plate  II  drill  holes  the  logs  of  which  are  filed  in  the  office  of  the 
State  Geological  Survey  are  indicated  by  appropriate  symbols.  These 
records  have  been  obtained  from  many  sources.  For  the  most  pait 
they  represent  test  holes  for  coal  and  petroleum.  Almost  without 
exception  the  operators  have  furnished  their  logs  for  purposes  of 
study.  The  Survey  is  requested  to  hold  a  large  number  of  records 
confidential,  and  for  this  reason  the  thickness  of  the  coal  is  not  shown 
on  the  map. 

Unfortunately  the  available  records  for  Edgar  County  are  too  few 
to  be  of  much  value  for  correlation  or  for  the  study  of  coal  resources. 
The  Survey  has  knowledge  of  67  holes  that  have  been  drilled  in  the 
county,  excluding  the  large  number  of  shallow  farm  wells,  but  after 
careful  inquiry  among  the  drillers  it  is  found  that  most  of  the  records 
have  been  lost,  misplaced,  or  destroyed,  and  the  valuable  information 
obtained  at  considerable  expense  is  unavailable,  and  only  13  good 
records  have  been  secured.  It  should  be  remembered  that  records 
of  any  kind  have  worth  even  if  they  show  the  absence  of  coal,  since 
if  the  record  is  lost,  useless  drilling  may  be  done  in  the  future. 

Structure  Contour  Map 

STRUCTURE  CONTOURS 

Prominent,  curved,  red  lines  bearing  conspicuous  numbers  rang¬ 
ing  from  200  to  600  extend  in  a  general  northwest-southeast  direction 


;  aTA.i'i  >i  v:rT3J.iua 


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.  •  ■ ..  •  I  ' 


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T.18N.  T.19N  T.2CN. 


ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


BULLETIN  14,  PLATE  II 


R.13  W. 


R.12  W. 


R.11  W. 


Coal  mine.  Number  refers  to 
table  on  page  12. 


H 

•  Ky 

X 

Local  mine. 

1  ^ 

1  2 

1 

1 

• 

Diamond  drill  hole. 

i 

1 

♦ 

Churn  drill  hole. 

i 

Contour  line  drawn  through 

1 

all  points  on  coal  No.  6  hav- 

1 

ing  altitude  indicated  by  the 

1 

figures. 

1 

-t 

Outcrop  of  coal  No.  7. 

H 

• 

h 

Outcrop  of  coal  No.  6. 

• 

12 

B 

Lines  connect  wells  whose  logs 

/  appear  in  cross-sections  indi- 

•  cated. 

^  Arrows  show  direction  of  dip. 

'  It  Railroad. 

Electric  railroad. 

- County  line. 

Township  line, 
a  Town 


685 


Surface  elevation  for  towns  as 
indicated. 


List  of  shipping  mines  in  Danville  District 
1913 

Map  No.  Company  Mine  No.  or  Name 

1.  Black  Diamond  Coal  Co.  B.  D. 

2.  Tilton  Coal  Co.  Comet 

3.  Missionfield  Coal  Co.  3 

4.  Mission  Mining  Co.  1 

5.  Gray  Coal  Co.  Gray 

6.  Electric  Coal  Co.  Electric 

7.  Contracting  Mining  Co.  Western  Brick 

8.  Danville  Consumers  Coal  Co.  — 

Catlin 

2 
4 

3 
2 

4 
3 

Little  Vermilion 
Sharon 
2 
I 


9.  Danville  Colliery  Co. 

10.  Bunsen  Coal  Co. 

11.  Bunsen  Coal  Co. 

12.  Bunsen  Coal  Co. 

13.  Dering  Coal  Co. 

14.  Dering  Coal  Co. 

15.  Dering  Coal  Co. 

16.  Bunsen  Coal  Co. 

17.  Sharon  Coal  &  Brick  Co. 
Missionfield  Coal  Co. 
Black  Diamond  Coal  Co. 


R.14  W 


R.13  W. 


R.12  W. 
Scale  of  miles 
1  2  3  4  5 


R.11  W. 


Map  of  Vermilion  County  with  special  reference  to  depth,  position,  and  distribution  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7. 


STRUCTURE 


25- 


across  the  map.  These  contour  lines  show  the  position  of  coal  No.  6 
above  sea  level.  Since  the  “Coal  Measures”  rocks  above  and  below 
coal  No.  6  are  essentially  parallel  to  it,  the  geologic  structure  is 
indicated  by  the  lines  representing  the  top  of  this  coal  bed.  Coal 
No.  6  was  selected  for  contouring  because  of  its  ease  of  identification 
over  most  of  the  area.  In  Edgar  County,  data  are  too  scarce  to  per¬ 
mit  satisfactory  correlations  and  contouring,  hence  the  available  in¬ 
formation  for  this  county  is  only  tabulated. 

In  studying  the  contour  map,  the  reader  is  requested  to  imagine 
all  the  rocks  removed  to  the  top  of  coal  No.  6;  in  other  words,  suppose 
this  coal  bed  to  be  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Again,  imagine  Ver¬ 
milion  County  to  be  flooded  by  an  arm  of  the  ocean,  the  water  stand¬ 
ing  575  feet  above  present  sea  level.  The  shore  line  would  be  rep¬ 
resented  by  the  contour  marked  575  on  the  map.  If  the  level  of  the 
water  were  lowered  by  25-foot  intervals,  the  successive  shore  lines 
would  be  indicated  by  the  corresponding  contours.  The  upward  folds 
or  anticlines  such  as  the  one  in  the  northern  part  of  T.  19  N.,  R.  12  W., 
would  extend  long  arms  of  land  into  the  sea ;  whereas  the  downward 
folds  or  synclines  such  as  the  one  immediately  south  of  the  anticline 
mentioned  above,  would  be  covered  by  bays  and  lagoons.  The  are^ 
inside  of  the  closed  contour  west  of  Georgetown,  would  rise  above 
sea  as  a  low  island  when  the  water  stood  at  475. 

In  Plate  II  the  contour  interval  is  25  feet.  The  elevation  of  the 
coal  above  sea  level  was  determined  in  each  place  by  subtracting  from 
the  surface  elevation  the  figure  representing  the  depth  to  the  top  of 
coal  No.  6  as  given  in  the  drill  or  shaft  record. 

ACCURACY  OF  STRUCTURE  CONTOURS 

The  accuracy  of  structure  contours  depends  directly  on  ( 1 )  the 
number  and  distribution  of  the  datum  points  where  information  is 
available,  (2)  the  correctness  of  correlations  between  beds,  and  (3) 
degree  of  precision  in  determination  of  surface  elevations. 

(1)  Data  are  sufficient  to  contour  only  eight  townships  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Vermilion  County.  Where  the  drill  holes  are 
numerous  and  evenly  distributed  the  position  of  the  contours  is  closely 
determined.  It  is  also  possible  to  use  a  small  contour  interval  and 
thereby  introduce  great  detail.  Although  it  would  have  been  possible 
in  some  parts  of  the  map  to  have  used  a  10-foot  contour  interval,  the 
data  for  the  entire  district  would  not  permit  the  use  of  an  interval 
less  than  25  feet.  In  areas  where  information  is  meagre,  doubt  is 
expressed  by  the  use  of  broken  contours. 

(2)  Throughout  the  contoured  area,  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7  are 
the  most  important  beds  and  their  persistent  characteristics  render 


26 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


them  easily  identified;  it  is  thought  that  correlations  are  correctly 
made. 

(3)  Surface  elevations  have  been  determined  by  various  methods. 
Instrumental  levels  were  run  to  the  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  drill  holes 
northwest  of  Danville.  The  Danville  quadrangle  topographic  map 
was  used  in  order  to  estimate  the  elevation  of  many  holes  south  and 
southwest  of  the  city.  Wherever  possible,  accurate  levels  furnished 
by  the  Bunsen  Coal  Co.,  Dering  Coal  Co.,  Two  Rivers  Coal  Co.,  and 
others  were  used  and  all  the  elevations  were  adjusted  to  sea  level 
datum.  In  southern  Vermilion  County  elevations  were  estimated 
from  the  Rolfe  topographic  map  of  1892-3  which  was  constructed 
largely  by  barometric  control  and  is,  therefore,  subject  to  considerable 
error. 


PRACTICAL  USE  OF  MAP 

The  base  map  has  been  compiled  from  the  best  available  data. 
Each  smallest  square  represents  a  section  of  approximately  640  acres. 
On  this  base  is  shown  the  location  of  all  drill  holes  and  mine  shafts 
of  which  records  are  on  file  in  the  Survey.  So  far  as  it  is  known,  the 
map  shows  the  areal  distribution  of  coal  No.  6,  its  approximate  depth 
at  any  given  point,  and  its  position  with  reference  to  sea  level.  For 
points  located  between  contour  lines,  intermediate  elevations  may  be 
assigned  to  the  top  of  coal  No.  6;  for  example,  the  elevation  of  the 
coal  at  a  point  half-way  between  the  500-foot  and  the  525-foot  con¬ 
tours  is  512^  feet.  Figures  obtained  in  this  way  are  approximately 
correct  and  are  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes. 

Certain  black  figures  on  the  map  show  surface  elevations.  In 
order  to  determine  the  depth  to  coal  No.  6  it  is  necessary  only  to 
subtract  from  the  surface  elevation  the  figure  representing  the  eleva¬ 
tion  of  the  coal  (obtained  from  the  nearest  contour  line).  For 
example,  at  Georgetown,  the  surface  elevation  is  676  feet  and  the 
altitude  of  coal  No.  6  as  shown  by  the  red  contour  is  475.  The 
difiference,  201  feet,  is  the  depth  to  coal  No.  6.  Coal  No.  7  at  this 
place  is  about  70  feet  above  the  Grape  Creek  bed. 

The  absence  of  contours  in  southwestern  \^ermilion  County  does 
not  signify  the  absence  of  coal,  but  merely  the  lack  of  sufficient  infor¬ 
mation  regarding  it. 


Structure  of  District  VIII 

REI.ATION  TO  GENERAL  STRUCTURE  OF  ILLINOIS 

The  coal  field  of  which  District  Ylll  is  only  a  part  covers  36,800 
square  miles  in  Illinois  and  a  smaller  area  in  Indiana  and  Kentucky. 


STRUCTURE 


27 


The  two  counties  under  consideration  lie  near  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  field  as  shown  in  figure  2. 


Fig,  2. — Sketch  map  showing  relation  of  District  VIII  to  Eastern  Interior 
coal  field. 

The  coal-bearing  rocks  lie  in  a  wide  basin-shaped  area  formed  by 
the  older  formations.  In  Illinois,  the  basin  is  spoon-shaped,  its 
deepest  part  being  in  Hamilton,  Wayne,  and  White  counties.  The 
long  axis  of  the  “spoon”  passes  near  Olney  in  Richland  County  and 
Covington  in  Moultrie  County.  Latest  information  indicates  that  the 
La  Salle  anticline  materially  alters  the  shape  of  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Illinois  basin.  This  upward  fold  extends  northwest  from  the  north¬ 
west  corner  of  Clark  County,  and  it  has  been  recognized  in  drillings 
at  least  as  far  as  Mahomet,  Champaign  County.  An  anticline  of 
similar  character  is  well  exposed  in  the  vicinity  of  La  Salle  and  has 
been  traced  15  to  20  miles  southeast  of  that  city.  In  southern  La  Salle 
County  its  axis  appears  to  extend  almost  north-south,  and  it  is  uncer¬ 
tain  that  it  connects  with  the  anticline  mentioned  farther  southeast. 
At  any  rate,  the  effect  of  the  latter  is  almost  to  sejiarate  the  Danville 
field  from  the  main  Illinois  basin.  In  other  words,  an  area  of  older 
rocks  underlies  the  drift  along  the  anticline  west  of  VTrmilion  and 


28 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Edgar  counties,  with  coal-bearing  rocks  on  each  side.  At  the  south 
the  Danville  area  is  connected  with  the  main  body  of  “Coal  Measures” 
as  shown  in  figure  3. 


STRUCTURAL  FEATURES 

The  structure  of  the  area  is  very  simple.  The  general  strike  of 
the  beds  is  a  little  west  of  north.  The  beds  dip  regularly  southwest- 
ward  from  30  to  50  feet  per  mile  for  about  3  miles  where  they  flatten 
into  a  terrace  3  miles  wide,  in  the  southeastern  part  of  T.  18  N., 
R.  12  W.  Here  the  dip  is  about  8  feet  per  mile.  On  this  flat  are 
two  portions  of  higher  structure  and  one  depression.  The  larger 
elevated  area  is  25  feet  above  the  surrounding  flat  and  covers  secs. 
36,  35,  and  25,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W.  and  parts  of  secs.  15,  21,  22,  23, 
T.  18  N.,  R.  11  W.  The  smaller  area  is  irregular  in  shape  and 
extends  over  parts  of  secs.  15,  21,  22,  and  23,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W.  The 
depression  affects  parts  of  secs.  14  and  15,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W. 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  STRUCTURAL  SECTIONS 

The  following  descriptions  refer  to  cross-sections  AB,  CD,  and 
EF  which  show  the  position  of  the  beds  in  different  parts  of  the 
district. 


SECTION  AB 

Section  AB  (PI.  Ill)  lies  in  a  general  northwest-southeast  line 
from  sec.  23,  T.  17  N.,  R.  11  W.  to  sec.  6,  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  W.,  cutting 
slightly  across  the  strike  of  the  beds.  It  is  constructed  with  sea 
level  as  a  datum  plane. 

The  section  shows  slight  irregularities  in  dip  and  the  eastward 
rise  of  the  coal  beds  No.  6  and  No.  7  above  the  plane  of  glacial 
erosion.  The  coal  beds  likewise  ride  above  this  plane  along  the 
northwest  projection  of  the  section  toward  Reilly,  but  no  data  are 
available  at  present  to  show  the  exact  former  location  of  the  beds. 
All  recognizable  horizons  are  correlated,  and  the  section  shows  also 
variations  in  the  character  of  the  strata  and  in  the  thickness  of  the 
beds  between  correlated  horizons,  such  as  the  thinning  of  the  beds 
between  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7  from  85  feet  in  the  southeast  to  an 
average  of  35  feet  in  the  northwest. 

SECTION  CD 

Cross-section  CD  (PI.  IV)  lies  along  the  dip  across  the  southern  part  of 
the  county.  It  shows  the  glacial  trough  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Vermilion 
County,  and  the  dip  of  the  coal  beds  westward  from  this  area  below’  the  line 
of  glacial  erosion.  The  dip  is  at  the  rate  of  40  feet  to  the  mile  from  the  outcrop 
of  coal  No.  6  to  sec.  30,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W.  From  this  locality  westw’ard  the 
strata  flatten  into  a  terrace  2^/^  miles  across,  beyond  which  the  western  dip  of 


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BULLETIN  14.  PLATE  III 


ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPERATIVE  AGKEEUEKT 


Top 


»  Glacia^  drill  ? 

 of 


1  Sec.23.T  17  N  .R  11  W 

13Sec.lO,T  19  N  ,R  12  W. 

2  Sec.H.T  17  N  .R.ll  W 

14  Sec.4.T  19  N  .R  12  W 

U'mestone 

3  Sec.3.T.17  N.R  11  W 

15  S00.33.T  20  N  .R  12  W 

Shale 

4  Sec  28.T.1B  N  .H  I  1  W. 

16  Sec28.T.20  N.,R  12  W 

5  Sec.28.T  18  N  .R.n  W 

17  Sec  28, T  20  N  ,R  12  W 

Sandstone 

6  Sec,20.T  18  N,,^l  11  W 

18Seo.28.T  20  N  .R  12  W 

|~£i^  Sand  and  shale 

7  Seo,20.T  18  N,.R,n  W, 

19  Sec  20,T.20  N..R  12  W. 

8  Sec  18.T  18  N  .R.n  W. 

20  Sec  17.T.20  N..R  12  W. 

Black  slate 

9  Bunsen  Coal  Co's  Mine  No. 3 

21  Sec  7,T  20  N  ,R  12  W 

Coal 

lOSec.1,T.18  N..R  12  W 

22  Sec  7.T20N,R.12W. 

11  Sec.25,T  19  N  .R  12  W 

23  Sec  6.T  20  N..R  12  W 

Fire  clay 

12  Tilton  Coal  Co. 

Soale  of  miles 

Cross-seclion  extending  northwest-southeast  through  Danville  coal  field  (for  plotted  locations  see  Plate  II) 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


29 


about  30  feet  per  mile  continues  to  a  line  where  it  is  influenced  by  the  La  Salle 
anticline.  The  interval  between  coals  No^  6  and  No.  7  decreases  regularly  west¬ 
ward  from  no  to  60  feet. 


SECTION  EF 

Cross-section  EF  (PI.  IV)  shows  the  structure  near  the  northern  outcrops 
of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7.  The  interval  between  these  coals  gradually  decreases 
westward,  but  not  so  conspicuously  as  in  cross-section  CD.  The  coals  them¬ 
selves  are  eroded  east  of  sec.  36,  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  W. 

Besides  the  larger  features  mentioned  above,  many  minor  irregu¬ 
larities  exist  that  can  not  be  shown  on  the  contour  map.  They  con¬ 
sist  of  small  irregularities  in  the  coal  floor,  such  as  hills  and  basins 
covering  a  few  acres  and  causing  considerable  grades  for  haulage. 
Generally  the  relief  shown  by  such  features  is  not  more  than  20  to  30 
feet,  and  they  are  not  discovered  except  when  the  coal  is  exposed  in 
mining. 

4 

COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 
General  Relationships 

Three  or  more  beds  of  coal  underlie  parts  of  Vermilion  and 
Edgar  counties,  but  it  is  probable  that  only  two  of  them  are  of  suffi¬ 
cient  thickness  to  be  mined  profitably.  These  beds,  known  as  the 
Grape  Creek  or  No.  6,  and  the  Danville  or  No.  7,  lie  20  to  30  feet 
apart  northwest  of  Danville,  whereas  toward  the  south  and  west 
the  interval  between  the  two  coals  is  commonly  80  to  90  feet.  The 
areas  of  best  development  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7  do  not  coincide. 
Where  one  is  thick  the  other  is  almost  invariably  thin  and  unim¬ 
portant.  The  general  relations  are  shown  in  figures  3  and  4.  An¬ 
other  coal,  known  locally  as  the  “Mud  Vein”  lies  165  to  220  feet 
below  coal  No.  6.  It  consists  generally  of  three  or  four  benches 
separated  by  partings  of  shale,  which  render  it  so  impure  that  it  has 
never  been  mined  in  the  district. 

Near  the  northern  boundary  of  Vermilion  County,  the  beds 
existed  formerly,  but  they  were  eroded  prior  to  glacial  times,  and  the 
present  rock  surface  under  the  drift  consists  of  strata  older  than  the 
“Coal  Measures.” 

In  southwest  Vermilion  County  and  western  Edgar  County  the 
coals  are  not  present.  The  older  rocks  are  brought  nearer  the  sur¬ 
face  by  the  La  Salle  anticline,  and  it  is  not  certain  whether  the  coals 
were  ever  deposited  or  whether  they  were  uplifted  and  eroded  after 
deposition. 


T.17N.  T.18N.  T.19N.  T.20  N. 


30 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


R.14W.  R.13W.  R.12W.  R.11W. 


Fig.  3.-Map  showing  areas  of  tliick  and  thin  coai  No.  6  in  Vermiiion 
County. 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIll 


31 


Coal  No.  6  (Grape  Creek) 

DISTRIBUTION  AND  THICKNESS 

The  (lata  available  at  present  are  not  sufficient  to  map  the  entire 
outcrop  line  of  coal  No.  6,  or  to  estimate  with  accuracy  the  area 
underlain  by  it.  Exposures  in  Vermilion  County  are  confined  entirely 
to  Vermilion  River  and  its  larger  tributaries. 


Fig.  4. — Map  showing  areas  of  thick  and  thin  coal  No.  7  in  VTrmilion 
County. 

1  he  line  of  outcrop  indicated  on  the  contour  map  represents  the 
location  to  the  best  of  present  knowledge  and  is  ajiproximately  cor¬ 
rect.  Where  it  enters  the  county  about  the  center  of  T.  17  N., 
R.  1 1  W.  the  outcrop  is  concealed  by  the  drift.  It  follows  a  general 


32 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


course  due  north  to  Grape  Creek,  where  it  is  exposed  in  the  banks  of 
the  stream  and  can  he  traced  to  where  the  river  swings  westward  at 
Danville.  Here  the  area  of  coal  No.  6  extends  for  a  short  distance 
beyond  Vermilion  River.  The  stream  has  eroded  its  channel  below 
the  coal  horizon,  so  that  the  area  on  the  east  bank  forms  an  outlier 
from  the  main  body.  The  outcrop  of  the  main  area  follows  the  south 
side  of  Vermilion  River  as  far  as  Schafer’s  mine,  in  sec.  7,  T.  19  X., 
R.  12  W.  beyond  which  it  is  concealed  by  the  drift,  but  a  number  of 
drillings  locate  the  outcrop  to  the  line  between  Tps.  20  and  21  X. 
This  is  as  far  as  it  can  be  positively  traced.  The  drilling  in  sec.  6, 
T.  20  X.,  R.  12  W.  shows  drift  to  the  top  of  coal  X^o.  7.  Several 
hundred  feet  of  Pennsylvanian  beds  including  coal  Xlo.  6  are  absent 
in  the  well  drilled  for  oil  at  Reilly,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  line  of 
outcrop  passes  westward  towards  Champaign  County  through  T.  21  X". 

The  western  boundary  of  coal  X^o.  6  is  unknown  except  approxi¬ 
mately  in  one  locality.  Samples  examined  from  the  well  at  Allerton 
in  T.  17  X.,  R.  14  W.  show  that  the  top  of  the  hole  is  below  the 
horizon  of  coal  X^o.  6,  whereas  at  Sided  both  coal  X^o.  6  and  coal 
Xo.  7  are  present.  This  places  the  line  of  outcrop  between  Allerton 
and  Sided. 

The  area  included  within  the  outcrop  just  described  embraces 
either  part  or  ad  of  Tps.  17,  18,  19,  and  20  X^.,  Rs.  11,  12,  and  13  W., 
or  approximately  325  square  miles. 

Figure  3  shows  the  area  underlain  by  coal  X"o.  6  where  it  has 
an  average  thickness  of  6  feet  in  Tps.  17,  18,  and  19  X"^.,  Rs.  11  and 
12  W.,  and  the  remaining  area  in  which  the  average  is  less  than  6  feet. 
North  of  the  boundary  line  the  coal  has  irregular  thickness,  and 
available  data  indicate  a  range  from  a  few  inches  to  4  feet,  the 
average  being  2  feet  9  inches.  The  boundary  line  between  thin  and 
thick  coal  is  subject  to  revision. 

Lack  of  drilling  in  T.  16  X.,  Rs.  11  and  12  \\\,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  Ridge  Farm  renders  correlation  between  \’ermilion  and  Edgar 
counties  impossible  at  the  present  time,  and  it  is  thought  best  to 
present  the  knowledge  regarding  Edgar  County  coals  in  tabular  form 
(see  Table  2).  Plate  V  is  a  map  showing  the  location  of  drill  holes 
in  Edgar  County.  Diligent  efforts  have  been  made  to  secure  records 
for  all  of  the  holes  drilled  in  this  countv,  but  unfortunatelv  manv 
records  were  not  kept.  The  map  shows  only  a  small  number  of  holes 
for  which  complete  logs  are  available. 


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ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

aX)PERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


BULLETIN  14,  PLATE  IV 


D 


FEET 
500 


400 


.  300 


1  Sec.12,T.17  N,,R.13  W 

2  Sec.8,T.17  N.,R,12  W, 

3  Sec.4,T.17  N.,R.12  W. 

4  Sec..34,T.18  N..R.12  W 

5  Sec.35.T.18  N..R.12  W. 

6  Sec.35.T.18  N.,R.12  W. 

7  Sec.36,T.18  N.,R.12  W. 


8  Sec.36,T.18  N.,R.12  W. 

9  Sec.30,T.18  N.,R.11  W. 

10  Sec.29,T.18  N.,R.1 1  W. 

11  Sec.28,T.18  N„R.11  W. 

12  Sec.22,T.18  N.,R.11  W. 

13  Seo.24,T.18  N.,R.11  W. 


1  Sec.31,T.20  N.,R.12  W. 

2  Sec.32,T.20  N..R.12  W. 

3  Sec,32.T.20  N.,R.12  W. 

4  Seo.33,T.20  N..R.12  W. 

5  Sec.34,T.20  N.,R.12  W. 

6  Sec.35,T.20  N..R.12  W. 

7  Sec.36,T.20  N.,R.12  W. 


8  Sec.29,T.20  N.,R.11  W. 

9  Sec.21.T.20  N..R.11  W, 

10  Sec.22.T.20  N,,R.11  W 

11  Sec.14,T.20  N.,R.n  W. 


rn: 


rzr 


Limestone 


.  .« 
o  -I 


Drift 


^^1  Shale 
Clod 


l-Vyl  Sand  or  sandstone 
Sand  and  shale 


Black  slate 
(  Coal 
Fire  clay 


F 


200 


too 


LO 


Cross-section  CD  showing  structure  across  the  southern  part  of  the  Danville  field 
Cross-section  EF  showing  structure  across  the  northern  part  of  the  Danville  field 

(For  position  see  Plate  II) 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


33 


Table  2. — Drill  records  of  coals  in  Edgar  County 
(No  confidential  records  published) 


Location 

Dei)th 

Thickness 

t 

Remarks 

1 

1 

^4 

sec. 

T.  N. 

1  R.  W. 

Et. 

In. 

Et. 

/w. 

SW 

NW 

6 

15 

10 

400 

7 

*  , 

sw 

NW 

29 

16 

10 

136 

6 

1 

6 

151 

*  , 

3 

3 

• 

SE 

NE 

30 

16 

10 

153 

6 

2 

6 

SW 

SW 

26 

13 

11 

104 

4 

0 

8 

184 

5 

0 

11 

250 

7 

5 

1 

Coal,  jack,  and  sulphur. 

371 

7 

4 

4 

421 

•  • 

1 

•  « 

Dirty  coal. 

531 

6 

0 

6 

553 

6 

5 

11 

SW 

SW 

26 

13 

11 

99 

,  * 

1 

•  • 

181 

10 

0 

6 

252 

8 

0 

6 

366 

2 

4 

2 

415 

10 

0 

6 

526 

4 

1 

551 

6 

2 

NE 

NW 

26 

13 

11 

581 

8 

Shale  and  coal. 

SE 

SE 

27 

13 

11 

154 

3 

0 

10 

233 

7 

1 

•  • 

303 

2 

1 

1 

402 

4 

2 

3 

425 

0 

9 

475 

7 

1 

•  • 

530 

10 

1 

•  • 

585 

2 

1 

•  • 

604 

6 

NE 

SE 

14 

14 

11 

98 

10 

1 

5 

219 

3 

0 

3 

NW 

NW 

25 

16 

11 

34 

6 

3 

8 

139 

3 

10 

161 

6 

2 

4 

234 

6 

1 

0 

313 

6 

2 

0 

SW 

NW 

25 

16 

11 

94 

0 

8 

95 

0 

6 

Cen, 

35 

16 

12 

500 

7 

0 

NW 

SW 

29 

15 

13 

130 

3 

275 

2 

SE 

sw 

4 

16 

13 

380 

2 

490 

7 

540 

•  • 

3 

Table  3  shows  the  depths,  altitudes,  and  thicknesses  of  coals 
No.  7,  No.  6,  and  No.  2  (?)  in  Vermilion  County  holes  the  logs  of 
which  are  not  confidential. 


Table  3. — Thicknesses  and  depths  of  coals  throughout  Vermilion  County 

(No  confidential  data  published) 


34 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


be 


U) 


lU 


(/) 

(fi 

/— s 

V 

0-. 

r* 

s-x 

CS) 

r" 

d 

H 

o 

U 

4-> 

o. 

OJ 

Q 

'O 

d 

o 

U 


c/3 

C/3 

<U 

c 

o 


H 


a 

(U 

Q 


"5  d 

X 

o 

X  o 

<  -I  *- 


ro  •- 


o 


2Q 


c 

a; 

O 

u 


T5 

m 


(M 


a 


O  ON 
On 

CO  <N 


OJ 

LO 

(M 


CO 

LO 

C\J 


0X0 
X  <o 


g 


+ 

LO 


o  o  o 

On  O  O 


<U 

O 

O 

Lh 

w 


O  LO  Tt- 


o  ^ 


CO  O  CO  O 


<u 
O 

o 

L-  \o  NO  LO  LO 

W 


.  QJ 

-o  o  o 


O  NO  - 
Li¬ 


no  On 


LO  LO 


o 

Iz; 

13 

o 

U 


c/3 

C/3 

0/ 

c 

(J 


C. 

V 

Q 


-BA3p 

aoHjang 


s 

O 

o 

O 

. 

NO 

. 

M- 

. 

o 

• 

. 

. 

CM 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

On 

X 

CM 

*+«* 

M" 

X 

1-H 

LO 

, 

o 

X 

On 

, 

CM 

X 

NO 

• 

NO 

CM 

. 

. 

. 

X 

, 

, 

M- 

Os 

LO 

LO 

• 

CO 

o 

LO 

• 

X 

CO 

CO 

* 

M" 

LO 

• 

• 

• 

O 

CO 

4^ 

CM 

CM 

CM 

g 

On 

O 

CM 

NO 

x) 

<u 

X) 

O 

X 

*0 

<u 

• 

03 

<u 

03 

OJ 

CM 

• 

NO 

O 

■  nJ 

a 

M- 

X 

M" 

-o 

'O 

o 

03 

03 

03 

O 

o 

o 

o 

'O 

O 

O 

o 

o 

><«/ 

CO 

O 

M- 

CO 

CO 

U 

U 

CO 

NO 

U 

i- 

NO 

NO 

CO 

NO 

LO 

U 

CM 

LO 

W 

W 

w 

w 

W 

w 

g 

O 

NO 

NO 

NO 

. 

, 

r-H 

. 

. 

. 

X 

. 

O 

. 

. 

NO 

X 

• 

Os 

O 

LO 

X 

, 

, 

. 

(M 

, 

NO 

, 

o 

NO 

ON 

Os 

. 

• 

• 

Os 

o 

o 

CO 

NO 

• 

• 

• 

NO 

• 

• 

• 

o 

On 

On 

Os 

ON 

• 

• 

• 

O 

4^ 

Ho 

M- 

CO 

NO 

LO 

o 

o 

LO 

o 

LO 

o 

LO 

o 

o 

o 

o 

O 

o 

o 

o 

CO 

NO 

T“H 

4^ 

X 

o 

NO 

NO 

CNl 

CO 

LO 

LO 

LO 

LO 

LO 

4^ 

4^ 

CO 

> 

• 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

LO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

o 

LO 

NO 

NO 

• 

• 

•H'o 

;v; 


oj 

</3 


cuUQQQQQQGuQQQQuaCCQ^ 

c 


ON  ^ 


ccj 

o 

o 

t-1 


— '  CM  Oi  CN 


r^t^xxxxxxxoNa\aNONONONONa\a\ooot^r^x 

t-H  t-H  y—i  i—i  y—*  f-H  i-H  i-H  04  04 


t^OL0X0\C0N0r^XM-^’— '^OOOOOM-^M- 
04  I^CMCM  04CMCMCOCOCOCOCO^COCO 


rf  fo 


^co;z;;2;cr)coco;z:^ooco;2;;3?;cocGcocGcGco;^:z:co;z: 


;?^5coucgI^cocococgc/)co^?:cocgc/)^?:jz:co;z;;z:;2:^z; 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


35 


s: 

o 


u 

ij 

C3 

< 

H 


t/i 

ca 

£ 

C 

cs 


CM 

d 


I/) 

i/i 

a; 

r- 

o 


rt 


o 

VO 

U 

5  o 

CO 


o 

>0 

°  c 


c/3 

W) 

c 


rC 

a 

>■> 

rt 


o 

u 

s 

o. 

V 

VO 

- 

tJ- 

<N1 

(/) 

HOI 

c/) 

a> 

c 

g 

O 

VO 

• 

00 

<o 

M" 

VO 

VO 

VO 

CM 

ON 

O 

CO 

00 

(ON 

M- 

CO 

VO 

o 

• 

VO 

jc: 

. 

•4^ 

LO 

VO 

VO 

CO 

VO 

00 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

CM 

o 

o 

VO 

o 

rt 

O 

§i 

lO 

o 

fO 

CM 

00 

. 

M" 

Ov 

ON 

o 

M" 

IM 

VO 

00 

VO 

(Ov 

VO 

M- 

(Ov 

CO 

u 

4-» 

• 

i-H 

' 

V 

CM 

VO 

'b" 

(O 

VO 

CM 

Ov 

00 

CO 

(On 

00 

00 

(ON 

00 

VO 

00 

VO 

f  » 

O 

00 

■rt 

t-H 

<o 

<o 

O 

1-H 

y—4 

CM 

CM 

00 

CM 

(ON 

o 

o 

VO 

VO 

(Ov 

VO 

r-H 

M- 

<M 

(M 

CM 

CM 

<M 

CvJ 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

{/^ 

C/) 

si 

O 

, 

00 

VO 

M- 

00 

M- 

CM 

VO 

Ov 

VO 

o 

(On 

o 

CO 

O 

VO 

CM 

(Ov 

V 

r- 

• 

U 

LQ 

VO 

M" 

M" 

M" 

M- 

M- 

VO 

M- 

CO 

CM 

CO 

CO 

CO 

VO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

o 

15 

o 

si 

. 

. 

O 

VO 

CM 

M" 

CM 

CO 

Ov 

CM 

00 

CM 

00 

, 

VO 

u 

•4-» 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

57 

/-K 

ON 

lO 

VO 

O 

00 

VO 

00 

CO 

CO 

Ov 

CO 

Ov 

M" 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

CM 

CM 

(Ov 

VO 

VO 

Tj- 

00 

00 

M" 

VO 

M" 

On 

VO 

M- 

M- 

VO 

M- 

IM 

CM 

00 

1 

r-H 

CM 

UOIJ 

LO 

U-) 

VO 

VO 

VO 

<o 

(^1 

CM 

CM 

CM 

VO 

CM 

CN) 

VO 

VO 

00 

o 

CO 

Tf 

-BAap 

3DBJjng 

VO 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

• 

• 

00 

00 

r>. 

00 

• 

00 

(M 

f'x 

VO 

• 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

vO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

' 

o  _ 
T3  ? 

•H 

*/ 


c 

o 

•  ^ 

a 

u 

o 

u 


/*✓ 


Q  Q 

HH 

►—1 

Ci  Q 

d  u 

rv 

d  d  d 

d 

Q 

d  d 

Q 

CM 

CM 

(M 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CNJ 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

r*S 

1-H 

r-H 

r^ 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

Os 

Os 

Os 

Os 

ON 

r-H 

r— H 

r-H 

r-H 

CO 

CO 

o 

o 

o 

o 

M- 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

o 

o 

o 

CM 

CM 

VO 

VO 

o 

CM 

r*H 

CM 

CM 

CM 

<M 

CNl 

CM 

<o 

w 

W 

w 

W 

W 

w 

<  W 

W 

W 

W 

W 

W 

W 

w 

w 

w 

W 

X 

W 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

z  CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

X 

X 

CO 

^  ^  ^ 

w 

UJ 

UJ 

W 

W 

, 

W  w  w  < 

w 

w 

W 

X 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

>c?: 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

X 

CO  X 

Table  3. — Continued 


36 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


in 

u 

cd 


a; 


CM 

6 


tn 

in 

c 

IS 

H 


>1 

it, 

CD 

—  LO 

rt  C 

o 

.O  QJ 

be 

»— 

Jji 

\o  o 

O  rs) 

Ui 

U 

o 

rS 

h-<  ^ 

^  I-  :  :  :  : 

CL> 

w. 


rt 

o 


U 


VO 


lU 

Q 


to 


tX) 

O  O' 
CO  eg  CM 


in 

in 

g 

VO 

On 

00 

0 

00 

M- 

VO 

to 

0 

VO 

0 

0 

V 

• 

• 

(U 

C 

'O 

0 

, 

u 

t-H 

CM 

VO 

CM 

fO 

cp 

<0 

u 

eg 

0 

0 

"C 

M" 

0 

12; 

’.9 

w 

0 

g 

CM 

eg 

00 

M- 

CO 

VO 

u 

Tj 

a 

a; 

Q 

■ 

r^ 

<0 

eg 

eg 

00 

M- 

eg 

On 

VO 

M- 

VO 

X 

VO 

VO 

O' 

CM 

ro 

M" 

fO 

1-H 

on 

On 

• 

00 

0 

^H 

fO 

On 

1— » 

1-H 

^H 

in 

in 

s 

00 

VO 

on 

00 

00 

O' 

1— H 

00 

eg 

CD 

CD 

CD 

V 

• 

• 

• 

<v 

<U 

<u 

• 

c; 

c 

CD 

w 

0 

0 

C 

tN. 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

0 

0 

0 

0 

V«2 

, 

VO 

10 

VO 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

VO 

u 

to 

u 

u 

to 

• 

Uh 

0 

:z; 

H 

w 

w 

w 

■ 

w 

0 

g’ 

VO 

VO 

, 

O' 

VO 

t^ 

O' 

u 

•M 

• 

• 

• 

• 

37 

c 

Tj- 

M- 

VO 

0 

fO 

NO 

00 

O' 

ON 

VO 

00 

eg 

. 

to 

• 

, 

eg 

ro 

LO 

00 

CM 

<0 

CM 

O' 

1-H 

0 

• 

0 

• 

• 

VO 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

UOIJ 

VO 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

• 

• 

• 

• 

10 

VO 

0 

1-H 

0 

cp 

0 

eg 

ON 

to 

VO 

S 

CM 

to 

cc 

-BA3I3 

'ij 

• 

• 

• 

• 

M" 

VO 

VO 

'O 

NO 

to 

00 

00 

ON 

CO 

00 

PO 

fO 

0 

O' 

3DBJ 

.ms 

10 

VO 

to 

to 

to 

to 

VO 

to 

to 

VO 

VO 

to 

VO 

to 

VO 

VO 

VO 

VO 

to 

• 

x 

/i 

H 

y 

.2 

y 

4-t 

<A 

V 

0 

be  .9^ 

.S 


Q  Q  Q  Q  .9"  qJ  Q  Q  cj  U  U  L)  U  Q  U  Q  U  U  L) 

.9 


eg 

CM 

eg 

eg 

CM 

CM 

CM 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

CM 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

CM  eg 

eg 

1-H 

1^ 

i“H 

1-H 

^H 

^H 

^H 

1— H  ^H 

On 

O' 

ON 

On 

ON 

On 

ON 

O' 

ON 

On 

On 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

^H 

^H 

1— H 

^H 

^H 

eg 

CM 

CM 

eg 

CM 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg 

eg  eg 

CM 

CM 

eg 

eg 

eg 

M* 

00 

00 

00 

ON 

ON 

to 

VO 

VO 

CC 

eg 

VO 

VO 

VO 

t^ 

r— H 

^H 

1-H 

T— H 

r— ^ 

CM 

1— H 

^  ^  ^ 

w 

w 

w 

w  ^ 

W 

^  W 

W 

W 

u: 

in 

in 

in 

in  ;z; 

in 

CG  Z  Z  CO  Z 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

Z  Z  Z  CG 

W 

W 

d 

(U 

W  ^  ^ 

w 

w 

W 

w 

w 

W 

^  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

cG  ^  u  ^ 

in 

in 

in  Iz; 

in 

^  in 

in 

l‘>lcvati()ns  marked  were  determined  instrumentally  from  hencli  marks;  other  elevations  are  estimates  from  L^.  S.  (i.  S.  topojfi'ai>liic  map  or  from 
Kolfe  toi!OKrai)hic  maps. 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VllI 


37 


S 

o 

to 


fO 

w 

(Q 

< 

H 


CO 

<u 

c/} 

U) 

a 

(/) 

u 

C/) 

<V 

_c 

a 

<u 

'O 

g 

V 

o 

a 

Pi 

C 

•  ^ 

Q- 

CM 

uo 

— ' 

6 

w- 

CV| 

d 

o 

U 


tfl 

(/) 

V 

c 

_o 

H 


lO 


a. 

O 


VO 

j) 

tr. 

o; 

is 

u 

O 

O 

U 

<— 

•M 

c. 

w 

Q 


o 

cfl 

o 

U 


oi 

Ul 

XI 

Si 

O 


UOIJ 

-BA3J3 

3DEJjn§ 


•S  "O 


c 

.2 

■*-» 

O 

o 


O  •  fO 

a\  •  00 

CM  CM 


H'^‘ 

g 

CM 

M- 

o 

M- 

CM 

On 

CM 

’O 

M- 

LO 

^H 

On 

CO 

^H 

On 

NO 

O 

CO 

t-H 

t-H 

00 

o 

r— H 

<U 

o 

r-H 

hH 

O 

'O 

M- 

M" 

CO 

CO 

CM 

CO 

u 

r-H 

o 

M" 

T— H 

r— H 

CM 

CM 

hH 

CO 

CM 

CM 

CM 

W 

g 

00 

CM 

. 

o 

O 

, 

00 

NO 

• 

1— H 

• 

• 

• 

" 

* 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

* 

• 

• 

• 

• 

M" 

NO 

CO 

o 

, 

« 

M- 

LO 

CM 

00 

r-H 

t^ 

00 

NO 

CM 

NO 

00 

00 

ON 

CO 

CM 

00 

LO 

CO 

M" 

t-H 

• 

• 

O 

On 

On 

NO 

M- 

o 

NO 

CO 

r—H 

t>. 

CO 

CON 

O 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

t-H 

^H 

t—H 

r“< 

CM 

r-H 

CM 

In. 

00 

CM 

M" 

O 

NO 

On 

’O 

(U 

*0 

o 

iHl'?’* 

(NJ 

00 

t-H 

T— H 

03 

(U 

03 

00 

CM 

03 

(U 

03 

. 

03 

(L> 

03 

O 

03 

<u 

03 

On 

M" 

00 

o 

O 

O 

O 

03 

O 

lo 

VO 

M- 

lO 

NO 

M" 

U 

LO 

CO 

LO 

U 

LO 

LO 

u 

CO 

u 

U 

M- 

LO 

LO 

W 

w 

w 

w 

w 

s 

LO 

o 

M" 

rv 

00 

CO 

00 

• 

. 

CM 

CM 

o 

• 

CM 

CO 

, 

LO 

• 

• 

. 

CO 

NO 

00 

M" 

un 

CM 

o 

• 

• 

tN. 

NO 

• 

^H 

00 

• 

r-H 

• 

• 

• 

o 

IM 

t^ 

r-H 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

^H 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

UO 

LO 

ON 

M- 

M" 

LO 

00 

00 

Tt 

ON 

CO 

LO 

o 

On 

CM 

t-H 

On 

rr 

rH 

On 

CM 

M- 

00 

o 

00 

^s. 

t-H 

CM 

o 

LO 

t-H 

cOn 

CM 

§ 

NO 

NO 

tin 

VO 

t^ 

NO 

NO 

NO 

LO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

LO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

LO 

LO 

NO 

NO 

uuuuuuuu 

U  U 

U  U 

U 

U  Q  U  U 

L) 

U 

c. 

c. 

c. 

U 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

1-H 

r-H 

^-H 

r-H 

t-H 

^H 

r-H 

r-H 

^H 

^H 

r—H 

rH 

o 

O 

O 

o 

o 

o 

O 

O 

o 

o 

O 

o 

o 

o 

O 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

O 

o 

o 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CVJ 

CM 

CM 

CM 

00 

a\ 

ON 

ON 

ON 

o 

NO 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

(On 

o\ 

On 

O 

r-H 

t-H 

r— H 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CO 

CO 

CO 

& 

W 

W 

w 

w 

W 

W 

W 

W 

W 

hC* 

w 

W 

^ 

c/) 

CO 

in 

in 

in 

m 

in 

in 

in  y. 

^  W  W  w 

W 

w 

W 

> 

w 

w 

w 

C/i 

CO 

CO 

CO 

CO 

>c!: 

in 

in 

in 

m 

in 

P^levations  marked  *  were  determined  instrumentally  from  bench  marks;  other  elevations  are  estimates  from  U.  S.  G.  S.  topographic  map  or  from 
Rolfe  topographic  maps. 


Table  3. — Continued 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


38 


(fl 


V 


CM 

6 

12; 


rs 

O 

U 


o 

O 

u 


rt 

5Q 


C/l 
[/; 

U  I 

I' 


•  00  CO 


d 

o 

U 


</: 

(U 

r- 

Jc 

w 


0<l 


X 

X 

a; 

r“ 

d 

U 

cS 

o 

u 

•4-J 

V 

llOJl. 

-EA3I3 

aoBjjng 


c 


u 


s' 

o 

O 

so 

VO 

o 

o 

tin 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

00 

CM 

• 

• 

CM 

CM 

CM 

s' 

CO 

lO 

o 

VO 

CO 

o 

■  U 

'O 

o 

. 

o 

o 

CJ 

V 

• 

'O 

'O 

O 

O 

o 

O 

1— H 

CO 

so 

U 

U 

• 

o 

o 

w 

w 

s 

Tf 

CM 

o 

o 

• 

Hi-J 

0\ 

VO 

Os 

LO 

CM 

, 

, 

LO 

, 

o 

o 

[  r 

»-H 

M- 

Os 

CM 

(M 

• 

• 

LO 

• 

CM 

M" 

s 

u-> 

00 

00 

LO 

00 

O 

VO 

o 

o 

<v 

O 

O 

Ho* 

CO 

LO 

LO 

M" 

LO 

LO 

U 

CM 

LO 

o 

o 

Ll! 

s' 

1 

o 

M- 

o 

00 

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COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


39 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

Coal  No.  6  averages  6  feet  in  thickness  in  the  important  mining 
area  south  of  Danville.  It  consists  generally  of  two  benches  which 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  the  “bine  band”,  the  top  of  which 
lies  1  foot  9  inches  to  3  feet  6  inches  above  the  floor.  The  two 
benches  which  are  similar  in  character,  consist  of  bright  and  dull 
layers  of  coal  with  which  are  interlaminated  mother  coal,  dirt,  and 
pyrite.  As  a  rule  the  “bine  band”  is  the  only  impure  layer  that  can 
be  traced  throughout  a  mine,  the  others  being  disconnected  lenses. 

Here  and  there  the  bed  varies  greatly  in  physical  appearance  and 
its  character  is  best  indicated  bv  sections  measured  at  the  face  in 
dififerent  mines  of  the  district. 


DERING  COAL  CO.,  MINE  NO.  4,  NW.^  SE.^  SEC.  I5,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W. 

Maximum  thickness,  10  feet ;  minimum,  4  feet  6  inches ;  average,  5  feet 
9  inches.  Coal  bright  and  brittle,  of  irregular  fracture,  and  banded  structure, 
and  divided  into  two  benches  which  are  similar  in  character.  Calcite  is  present 
along  the  fracture  planes,  and  the  sulphur  occurs  in  bands  and  stringers;  be¬ 
tween  the  benches  is  the  “blue  band”  which  consists  of  two  1-inch  layers  of  gray 
clay  separated  by  6  inches  of  coal. 


Section,  face  main  south  entry 


Description  of  strata 

Coal  . 

Sulphur  . 

Coal  . 

Sulphur  . 

Coal  . 


“Blue  band”  . 

Coal  . 

“Blue  band” . 

■  “Blue  band”  . 

Coal 


SHARON  COAL  AND  BRICK  CO.,  SEC.  7,  T.  I7 


Thickness  Depth 


Inches 

Inches 

7 

7 

1 

8 

15 

23 

1 

24 

23 

47 

1 

48 

6 

54 

1/2 

55/2 

14 

69/, 

R.  II  W. 

Maximum  thickness,  5  feet  8  inches;  minimum,  4  feet;  average,  5  feet. 
Two  benches,  both  about  same  character;  mostly  bright,  with  subconchoidal 
fracture.  “Blue  band”  persistent,  about  two-thirds  distance  from  top;  small 
dirt  bands  and  sulphur  mostly  in  lower  bench. 


Section,  face  2nd  NE. 

Thickness 


Description  of  strata  Inches 

Coal,  hard,  bright .  10 

Bone  .  \]/2 


Depth 

Inches 

10 

11/2 


40 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Description  of  strata 

Coal,  hard,  bright . 

Bone . 

Coal,  hard,  dull . 

Bone . 

Coal,  soft  . 

Sulphur  . 

Coal  . 

Sulphur  . 

Coal  . 


‘Blue  band 


inches  thick.  Dirt  in  irregular  bands. 

Section,  face  S.  7  W. 

Description  of  strata 

Coal,  laminated,  bright  to  dull,  several  small  bands  o 

Dirt  . 

Coal,  dull,  dirty  . 

Dirt,  “blue  band” . 

Coal,  bright,  clean,  except  small  amount  of  sulphur, 


Section,  y  E.  off  main  N. 


Description  of  strata 


calcite  . 

“Blue  band,”  bone  and  shale  . 

Coal,  cleaner  and  brighter  than  upper  bench, 


Thickness 

Depth 

Inches 

Inches 

22 

3314 

2 

3514 

a 

4014 

2 

4214 

5 

4714 

/2 

48 

5 

53 

2 

55 

7 

62 

T.  l8  N.,  R.  II  W. 

:,  6  feet;  upper 

bench. 

band”  as  much 

as  714 

Thickness 

Depth 

Inches 

Inches 

50 

50 

214 

52k^ 

4 

56/2 

3 

59/ 

3114 

91 

Thickness 

Depth 

Inches 

Inches 

i 

43 

43 

7 

50 

2214 

72/ 

SCHAFER  MINE,  NW.^  SW.^  SEC.  7,  T.  I9  N.,  R.  II  \V. 

Maximum  thickness,  9  feet ;  minimum,  18  inches ;  average,  6  feet.  Coal 
is  hardest  near  top  and  bottom.  “Blue  band”  is  present  throughout  mine ;  several 
dirt  and  sulphur  bands  of  irregular  vertical  and  horizontal  extent.  Sulphur 
sticks  to  coal  and  is  difficult  to  separate. 

Section  of  coal  No.  6  at  Schafer  Mine 

Thickness  Depth 


Description  of  strata  Inches  Inches 

Coal,  laminated,  fairly  hard,  contains  sulphur  and  dirt 

bands  and  some  gypsum  .  28  28 

Coal,  softer  and  blocky,  less  sulphur .  12  40 

“Blue  band”  containing  sulphur  balls .  1^2  4114 

Coal,  contains  clay  and  sulphur  bands  and  pyrite  balls, 

bottom  10  inches  harder  .  41  8214 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


41 


KELLEY  COAL  CO.,  HIMROD  MINE  (ABANDONED),  NE.J^  SE.J4  SEC.  Q  T.  l8  N.,  R.  II  W. 

Section  face  5th  N.  off  NE.  Entry 


Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Inches 

Inches 

Coal  . 

461/2 

“Blue  band”  . 

.  1 

4IV2 

Bone  . 

.  2 

49/2 

Coal  . 

.  25^ 

75 

ROOF  OF  COAL  NO.  6 

The  very  persistent  limestone  overlying  coal  No.  6  in  south¬ 
western  Illinois,  is  absent  over  most  of  this  field.  It  is  well  devel¬ 
oped  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Danville,  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
bed  once  covered  the  entire  area  but  was  removed  by  erosion  and 
replaced  by  the  present  shales. 

The  regular  roof  in  the  Danville  district  is  a  gray,  sandy  shale 
containing  plant  impressions  and  their  carbonized  remains  and  pos¬ 
sessing  so  little  cohesion  that  it  falls  easily  in  more  or  less  tabular 
masses.  It  contains  many  ‘‘slips”  and  rolls  which  are  described 
under  the  topic  “Roof  Irregularities  in  the  Danville  District.” 

The  following  notes  and  sections  were  made  in  various  mines  of 
the  district. 


SHARON  MINE,  SEC.  J,  T.  I7  N.,  R.  II  W. 

Above  the  coal  is  a  3-  to  4-inch  carbonaceous  shale  which  is  in  places 
underlain  by  a  thin  layer  of  bone.  In  parts  of  the  mine  a  5-inch  draw  slate 
occurs.  The  gray,  sandy,  shale  cap  rock  is  at  least  15  feet  thick ;  the  lowest  2 
feet  shows  a  large  number  of  laminations  and  contains  flattened  marcasite  con¬ 
cretions  in  layers  from  4  to  6  inches  apart. 

Roof  is  good  until  lowest  carbonaceous  shale  is  removed,  when  moisture 
swells  the  shale  and  causes  it  to  break  and  fall  piece  by  piece  to  the  cap  rock. 

DERING  NO.  4,  NW.14  SE,J4  SEC.  I5,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W. 

Roof  which  falls  in  tabular  slabs  is  light,  sandy,  gray  shale  up  to  20  feet 
thick,  overlain  by  80  feet  of  gray  shale.  Roof  contains  plant  impressions  and 
some  sulphur  balls.  It  is  most  sandy  in  vicinity  of  rolls.  An  area  extending 
approximately  north-south  in  the  vicinity  of  the  shaft  contains  numerous  rolls. 
A  smaller  area  exists  to  the  west.  Rolls  have  a  general  northeast-southwest 
bearing. 

BUNSEN  COAL  CO.,  LITTLE  VERMILION  MINE,  NW.J4  SE.J4  SEC.  IQ,  T.  l8  N.,  R.  II  W. 

Roof  is  gray,  sandy  shale  irregularly  bedded  ;  contains  rolls  and  stringers 
of  coal  which  cause  weakness;  falls  in  conchoidal  masses.  Coal  No.  7  lies  43 
feet  above  No.  6.  A  harder,  smoother  shale  called  soapstone  overlies  the  im¬ 
mediate  roof  and  in  places  is  in  contact  with  the  coal. 


42 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


SCHAFER  MINE,  NW.]^  SW.j4  SEC.  7,  T.  IQ  N.,  R.  II  W, 

Roof  of  this  mine  is  typical  of  small  area  in  which  limestone  is  present. 


Section  of  roof 

Thickness 

Description  of  strata 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

4. 

Limestone,  dark  gray,  argillaceous,  nodular.. 

3/2 

to 

4 

3. 

Shale,  calcareous,  light  gray . 

6 

to 

8 

2. 

1. 

Shale,  black,  very  bituminous . 

Shale,  black,  hard  (lenticular) . 

3 

to 

18 

4 

No  3  contains  clay  seams  bearing  N.  60°  W.  and  N.  30°  E.  It  forms  roof 
of  part  of  mine.  It  is  reported  that  cannel  coal  replaces  No.  1  here  and  there, 
and  when  neither  black  shale  nor  coal  are  present  the  roof  falls  to  limestone 
cap  rock. 

Section  from  coal  No.  6  to  coal  No.  7  at  Schafer's  mine 

Thickness  Depth 


Description  of  strata  Feet  Feet 

Coal  No.  7  (Danville)  .  6  6 

Shale,  carbonaceous  .  4  10 

Coal,  impure  .  1  11 

Shale,  brown,  unconsolidated  .  10  21 

Limestone,  clayey,  weathers  rapidly  .  3  24 

Slate,  black  to  water’s  edge  .  2  26 


Coal  No.  6  (Grape  Creek)  visible  at  lower  w'ater . 

IRREGULARITIES  IN  ROOF  AND  FLOOR 
GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 

Throughout  the  Danville  district  the  contact  of  the  roof  with 
the  coal  is  extremely  irregular.  Lenticular  masses  of  shale  usually 
covered  by  a  thin  layer  of  coal  extend  downward  into  the  coal  bed, 
and  in  many  places  they  practically  replace  the  bed.  This  kind  of 
roof  is  known  as  “roily”  by  the  miner  and  the  individual  masses  are 
termed  “rolls.” 

The  typical  roll  of  this  district  is  a  lens-shaped  body  of  shale 
similar  in  all  respects  to  the  roof  material,  its  long  axis  parallel  with 
the  bedding  of  the  coal  lying  in  the  upper  part  of  the  bed.  In  most 
rolls  examined  thus  far,  the  roof  proper  is  separated  from  the 
lenticular  shale  by  a  layer  of  coal  ranging  in  thickness  from  a  mere 
streak  up  to  about  1  foot.  Moreover,  this  stringer  of  coal  if  con¬ 
sidered  alone,  forms  a  dome-shaped  covering  for  the  underlying  roll, 
the  dome  extending  up  into  the  roof  to  a  distance  depending  on  the 
size  of  the  roll.  A  vertical  thickness  of  10  or  15  feet  is  not  uncommon 
at  the  central  part  of  the  shale  lens.  Figure  5  shows  the  side  view 
at  the  edge  of  a  roll  and  the  coal  stringer  extending  up  into  the  roof. 
The  smaller  rolls  extend  along  the  entries  about  ten  feet,  whereas 
others  may  affect  the  roof  for  hundreds  of  feet,  there  being  no  uni¬ 
formity  in  size. 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


43 


The  matrix  of  the  lenses  is  composed  of  sandy  shales,  similar  in 
all  respects  to  the  regular  roof  shales  of  the  district.  In  places  small 


Fig.  5. — A  typical  roll  of  the  Danville  District  (entry  cuts  through  the 
roll,  of  which  only  one  side  is  shown). 


amounts  of  sand  are  interlaminated  with  the  shale  of  the  roll  just  as 
they  occur  higher  up  in  the  regular  roof  (see  figure  6). 


Fig.  6. — Sketch  of  a  roll. 


44 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Small  stringers  of  coal  varying  in  thickness  from  a  fraction  of 
an  inch  up  to  3  or  4  inches  extend  out  into  the  lens  from  the  main 
coal  bed  or  from  the  stringer  covering  the  lens.  Only  a  few  of 
these  stringers  are  disconnected  from  the  main  coal,  but  it  is  signifi¬ 
cant  that  they  all  lie  approximately  horizontal  or  along  laminations 
in  the  matrix  of  the  lenses.  Figure  7  shows  a  roll  as  sketched  in 
mine  No.  4  of  the  Dering  Coal  Company. 


0  1  2345  Feet 

«  »  •  *  «  ^ 

Fig.  7. — Sketch  of  roll  in  Dering  mine  No.  4. 

Underground  study  and  examination  of  mine  maps  kindly  fur¬ 
nished  by  the  Dering  and  Bunsen  Coal  companies  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  long  axes  of  the  individual  lenses  extend  in  a  general  north¬ 
east-southwest  direction,  and  that  the  rolls  tend  to  occur  along  lines 
parallel  to  the  long  axes. 

Figure  8  illustrates  the  efifect  of  the  rolls  as  shown  in  one  of  the 
mines  of  the  district.  It  is  necessary  to  turn  rooms  along  the  rolls, 
therefore  the  mine  map  gives  a  clear  idea  of  their  abundance  and 
direction. 

In  practically  all  of  the  rolls,  slickensides  are  developed  along 
the  contact  of  the  coal  and  shale.  Many  of  the  rolls,  especially  the 
larger  ones  or  those  occupying  a  major  part  of  the  coal  bed,  were 
faulted  to  some  extent  after  they  had  reached  a  stage  of  solidifica¬ 
tion  approximating  their  present  condition.  The  amount  of  dis¬ 
placement  varies,  but  in  general  it  does  not  equal  the  thickness  of 
the  roll.  Figure  9  is  a  sketch  showing  such  a  faulted  lens. 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


45 


Under  all  of  the  large  rolls  studied,  the  floor  is  depressed.  This 
characteristic  is  so  noticeable  that  to  the  miner  a  sudden  local  dip 
usually  signifies  the  presence  of  a  roll. 


Scale  1  inch  -  200  leel 


Fig.  8. — Sketch  of  a  portion  of  Dering  mine  No.  4  showing  effect  of 
rolls  on  position  of  rooms. 


ORIGIN  OF  ROLLS 

The  laminations  and  bedding  planes  so  clearly  shown  in  the 
material  composing  the  lenses,  the  small  stringers  of  coal  fingering 
out  from  the  main  bed  into  the  lens,  the  absence  of  fragmentary  ma¬ 
terial  such  as  broken  coal,  leave  small  room  for  doubt  that  the  lenses 
are  of  sedimentary  origin.  They  are  believed  to  have  come  to  their 
present  position  through  the  processes  outlined  below. 

After  most  of  the  vegetal  matter  had  collected  it  seems  likely 
that  the  surface  of  the  coal  swamp  was  uneven,  consisting  of  slight 
elevations  and  depressions,  the  latter  probably  containing  water,  but 


46 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


not  forming  regular  drainage  channels.  If  at  any  time  the  general 
level  of  water  in  the  swamp  was  slightly  raised,  there  was  of  course 
an  overflow  from  one  depression  to  another  depending  on  the  height 
of  the  barrier  or  the  higher  ground  between  them. 

A  short  time  before  the  submergence  that  put  an  end  to  the 
deposition  of  coaly  matter,  the  general  level  of  the  swamp  was  low¬ 
ered  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Danville  field  and  the  result  was  an 
incursion  of  water  loaded  with  very  fine  sediment.  The  higher  parts 
of  the  swamp  were  probably  not  submerged,  but  the  depressions  were 
flooded,  and  many  of  them  were  slowly  filled  with  fine  muds  and 


Fig.  9. — Sketch  of  faulted  roll. 


sands  interlaminated.  During  the  deposition  of  this  material  in  the 
small  depressions,  vegetable  matter,  leaves,  and  trees  fell  or  were 
washed  into  the  hollows  and  were  interbedded  with  the  sediments. 
The  overflow  from  one  depression  flooded  an  adjacent  low  area  and 
the  small  divide  between  the  two  received  only  a  thin  layer  of  sedi¬ 
ment.  It  is  believed  that  if  all  of  the  overlying  material  were  re¬ 
moved,  there  would  be  seen  dirt  bands  of  various  sizes  connecting 
the  shale  lenses  along  bedding  places  in  the  coal.  Such  connection 
was  not  actually  traced  in  any  of  the  mines,  but  it  must  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  examination  is  limited  to  the  comparatively  small  area 
exposed  along  mine  workings. 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


47 


Before  the  final  submergence  began,  conditions  w^ere  probably 
stable  for  a  considerable  time  and  vegetal  deposits  accumulated  in 
various  amounts  over  many  of  the  filled  depressions.  The  whole 
region  then  began  to  sink  and  permitted  the  deposition  of  the  roof 
materials,  and  at  once  pressure  on  the  coaly  material  began  to  be 
efifective. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  a  bed  of  coal  6  feet-  thick  probably 
represents  almost  200  feet  of  original  vegetal  matter.  According  to 
Ashley  and  others  1  foot  of  surface  peat  forms  about  inches  of 
compact  peat ;  and  for  1  foot  of  bituminous  coal,  like  that  of  the 
Pittsburg  coal,  3  feet  of  compact  peat  are  required.  According  to 
these  figures,  about  32  feet  of  surface  vegetal  matter  slightly  com¬ 
pressed  would  be  required  for  each  foot  of  coal  like  that  of  the 
Grape  Creek  bed.  At  the  time  of  deposition  of  the  lenses  there  was 
probably  16  feet  of  peat  already  in  existence  covered  by  25  or  30 
feet  of  looser  vegetal  matter.  In  other  words,  the  lenticular  masses 
rested  40  or  50  feet  above  their  present  position  when  pressure  began 
to  be  exerted  by  the  accumulating  roof  muds  and  sands.  The  figures 
quoted  are  probably  somewhat  too  high  for  Illinois  coals,  but  a  consid¬ 
erable  reduction  in  the  amount  of  original  vegetal  matter  would  still 
leave  a  decided  excess  in  the  thickness  of  this  material  over  that  of  the 
clay  lens. 

While  the  coaly  matter  was  compressed  from  40  or  50  feet  to 
6  feet,  the  lens  held  practically  its  same  size,  owing  to  its  almost 
incompressible  nature  when  compared  to  vegetal  matter.  The  final 
result  was  that  the  thickest  part  of  the  lens  settled  least  of  all  and 
arched  the  stringer  of  coal  as  shown  in  figure  10. 

As  stated  above,  most  of  the  large  lenses  have  not  only  an 
arched  top,  but  also  have  depressed  the  floor  slightly.  Slickensides 
are  present  in  all  of  the  rolls  as  would  be  expected  when  it  is  recalled 
that  the  solid  clay  has  settled  perhaps  50  feet  surrounded  by  an  ex¬ 
tremely  compressible  medium.  Irregular  settling  has  caused  move¬ 
ment  of  the  clay  in  dififerent  directions  in  order  to  accommodate  un¬ 
equal  pressures  and  the  result  is  in  many  places  not  a  smooth  lenti¬ 
cular  mass  but  an  irregularly  shaped  lens  with  an  uneven  contact,  as 
shown  in  figure  10. 

Many  of  the  large  rolls  show  faulting  that  occurred  after  both 
coal  and  shale  had  become  solidified  to  almost,  if  not  quite,  their 
present  condition.  The  connections  of  the  fractures  to  the  lenses 
that  occupy  the  major  part  of  the  bed  is  in  accord  with  the  theory 
that  the  greatest  differential  strains  were  i)roduced  where  the  largest 
lenses  of  incompressible  shale  settled  into  the  accommodating  coaly 


48 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Mud  lens 
in  peat 


Compressed 

peat 


A 


Shale 


Shale  lens 
in  coal 


B 

Fig.  10. — Sketch  showing  compression  of  coaly  matter  and  shale  lens. 

A — Sketch  showing  slightly  compressed  peat  with  lenticular  deposit  of 
clay  and  interbedded  vegetal  matter  near  surface  of  swamp.  A  small  amount 
of  vegetal  matter  overlies  the  clay. 

B — Sketch  showing  effect  of  compression  by  the  accumulating  muds  which 
now  form  the  roof  shales  of  the  coal.  The  vegetal  matter  is  compressed,  where¬ 
as  the  lens  of  clay  retains  its  volume,  and  the  arching  of  the  top  of  the  lens 
is  the  result.  At  A,  B,  I,  and  J  of  figure  A  the  entire  mass  is  composed  of 
highly  compressible  material,  whereas  at  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  and  H  there  is  a  variable 
amount  of  almost  incompressible  cla}'.  The  section  at  F  contains  the  most  of 
the  clay  and  will  be  compressed  least  of  all  as  shown  in  B. 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


49 


substance.  In  all  rolls  thus  far  examined  the  evidences  of  move¬ 
ment  and  fracturing,  or  in  other  words,  the  pressure,  is  directly  pro¬ 
portional  in  a  general  way  to  the  size  (mass)  of  the  lens. 

From  the  nature  of  the  rolls,  it  is  not  possible  to  predict  their 
position  or  size  since  they  are  probably  dependent  upon  the  nature  of 
the  original  swamp  surface,  only  the  general  characteristics  of  which 
are  now  known.  If  the  theory  outlined  represents  the  facts,  the 
lenses  are  simply  variations  of  the  dirt  bands  so  common  in  the  coals 
and  are  not  more  regular  in  their  occurrence  than  are  the  latter. 

The  rough  alignment  of  the  lenses  in  a  northeast-southwest 
direction  is  probably  the  result  of  the  slow  settling  of  the  swamp  sur¬ 
face  toward  the  southwest,  and  the  development  of  parallel  incipient 
drainage  channels  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  sediment  that  formed 
the  lenses. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  variable  conditions  under  which 
the  mass  of  clay  settled  into  the  coaly  material,  and  especially  the 
compressible  nature  of  the  latter  as  compared  with  the  clay,  enabled 
the  mass  of  clay  to  assume  under  pressure  a  great  variety  of  shapes. 
It  is,  therefore,  not  always  possible  to  recognize  the  similarity  to  a 
lens.  In  some  places  no  accumulation  of  vegetal  matter  occurred 
above  the  clay  now  forming  the  lens,  therefore  no  stringer  of  coal 
caps  the  lens.  However,  the  same  general  results  have  been  brought 
about  by  settling,  and  slips  occur  between  the  regular  shale  roof  and 
the  material  composing  the  lens.  The  roof  is  thereby  weakened  and 
the  lenticular  material  falls  about  in  the  same  manner  as  if  the  coal 
stringer  were  present. 

The  lenticular  masses  of  clay  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Danville 
coals  then  are  probably  not  essentially  different  in  their  mode  of 
origin  from  the  clay  bands  throughout  the  bed,  or  from  the  lenses 
1  to  2  feet  thick  which  in  places  are  called  partings.  Their  present 
shape  is  the  result  of  (1)  the  form  of  the  deposition  basin  and  (2)  to 
the  readjustments  incident  to  the  settling  of  a  somewhat  plastic  in¬ 
compressible  clay  into  a  highly  compressible  vegetal  mass. 

FLOOR 

The  floor  of  coal  No.  6  is  a  grayish  clay  containing  plant  remains 
and  varying  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  up  to  several  feet.  In 
most  of  the  mines,  the  clay  heaves  when  wet,  the  amount  of  heave 
being  different  in  different  mines.  At  Little  Vermilion  mine  of  the 
Bunsen  Coal  Company,  the  swelling  of  the  clay  is  used  to  raise  the 
tracks  in  small  depressions.  At  the  Sharon  mine  near  Georgetown 
the  clay  is  about  5  feet  thick  and  contains  ferruginous  concretions. 


50 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


whereas  in  the  Schafer  mine  near  Danville  the  immediate  floor  is 
only  4  to  6  inches  thick  and  heaves  readily  as  soon  as  wet,  but  below 
is  a  solid  gray  shale.  Here  the  clay  locally  contains  coal  lenses. 
Below  the  clay  floor,  is  a  thin  limestone  that  is  reported  in  most  of 
the  drillings. 


Coal  No.  7  (Danville) 

DISTRIBUTION  AND  THICKNESS 

Although  coal  No.  7  probably  exists  in  Edgar  County,  it  has  not 
been  positively  identified.  Its  eastern  limit  in  the  southern  part  of 
Vermilion  County  is  known  to  be  about  2^/2  miles  west  of  Ridge 
Farm.  It  extends  east  and  north  approximately  parallel  to  the  out¬ 
crop  of  coal  No.  6.  Drill  holes  north  of  Georgetown  are  sufficiently 
close  together  to  locate  its  eastern  boundary  with  considerable  ac¬ 
curacy  (see  Plate  V). 

Its  eastern  limit  was  determined  by  pre-glacial  erosion  as  is  indi¬ 
cated  by  Plate  III.  The  glacial  drift  now  fills  the  ancient  valleys, 
and  the  present  topography  bears  little  resemblance  to  that  of  pre¬ 
glacial  times.  There  is  no  surface  indication  of  the  eastern  boundary 
of  coal  No.  7,  and  its  extent  has  been  determined  only  by  drilling. 

This  coal  appears  in  the  river  bluff  a  short  distance  below  the 
Wabash  Railroad  bridge  and  from  this  point  it  may  be  traced  up  Salt 
Fork  to  Butler  Branch,  where  it  dips  slightly  beneath  river  level.  It 
is  seen  again  in  the  bottom  of  the  river  in  sec.  17,  T.  19  N.,  R.  12  W. 
Where  it  lies  a  short  distance  below  the  surface  in  the  river  flood 
plains  southwest  of  Hillery,  several  large  stripping  mines  have  been 
developed.  It  is  entirely  below  water  level  on  ^Middle  Fork,  but 
holes  drilled  by  the  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  Railroad  show  that  coal  No.  7 
underlies  roughly  the  southwest  half  of  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  W.  North 
of  sec.  6,  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  W.  the  extent  of  coal  No.  7  is  not  known, 
but  in  that  section  the  glacial  drift  rests  on  the  coal,  and  it  is  prob¬ 
able  that  the  bed  does  not  extend  more  than  a  mile  or  two  north  of 
this  place.  Its  northern  limit  is  probably  not  far  from  the  C.  &  E.  I. 
bridge  across  Middle  Fork  in  the  SE.  34  sec.  26,  T.  21  N.,  R.  13  \\\ 
No  drilling  has  been  done  in  T.  20  N.,  R.  13  W.  to  locate  the  western 
boundary  of  coal  No.  7,  but  it  probably  underlies  at  least  the  east  half 
of  the  township.  It  was  mined  formerly  at  Mnncie  where  it  is  200 
feet  below  the  surface.  It  probably  extends  only  a  short  distance 
west  of  Muncie  since  the  La  Salle  anticline  brings  all  of  the  bedi 
closer  to  the  surface  and  erosion  has  removed  them.  The  western 
limit  of  coal  No.  7  extends  south  in  an  irregular  line  a  short  distance 
west  of  Fairmount  and  probably  2  miles  west  of  Sidell.  Further 


f  I 


.T-<  \ 


o’ 


I 

f 

4 

I 


Itp 


BULLETIN  14,  PLATE  V 


ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPKRATIVE  AGREEMENT 


Drill  hole  for  which  no 
information  is  available 


Drill  hole  for  which 
partial  log  is  available 


Diamond  drill  hole  for  which 
complete  log  is  available 


Churn  drill  hole  for 
which  complete  log  is 
available 


Map  of  Edgar  County  showing  location  of  drill  holes 


COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


51 


south  in  Edgar  County  this  coal  has  not  been  identified,  although  later 
drilling  will  no  doubt  prove  its  existence. 

Coal  No.  7  is  exposed  all  along  the  river  front  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  Danville,  but  it  disappears  towards  the  northeast  having 
been  eroded  in  the  formation  of  the  pre-glacial  valley  of  Vermilion 
River.  The  coal  was  formerly  stripped  near  the  water  works  and 
also  at  the  mouth  of  Hungry  Hollow,  but  it  is  not  known  to  extend 
farther  north  along  this  stream. 

A  line  drawn  a  short  distance  north  of  the  line  between  town¬ 
ships  18  and  19  marks  the  boundary  between  the  area  to  the  north 
underlain  by  coal  No.  7  with  an  average  thickness  of  more  than  5  feet 
and  the  southern  area  of  the  same  bed  with  an  average  thickness  of 
less  than  5  feet.  South  of  this  line,  the  coal  decreases  in  thickness 
at  a  rather  uniform  rate  from  4  feet  7  inches  to  2  feet  8  inches,  the 
separation  between  the  thicker  and  thinner  areas  being  very  much 
more  pronounced  than  in  coal  No.  6.  It  is  noticeable  that  where  one 
coal  is  thick,  the  other  is  generally  thin.  For  details  regarding  the 
thickness,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Table  3. 

PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

Coal  No.  7  is  variable  in  thickness,  the  maximum  being  about  6 
feet  and  the  average  about  5  feet  in  the  area  where  it  is  being  mined. 
In  some  places  a  parting  not  unlike  the  “blue  band”  of  coal  No.  6, 
divides  the  bed  into  two  benches,  but  as  a  rule,  the  partings  are  not 
so  persistent  at  any  given  horizon.  Coal  No.  7  generally  contains  a 
larger  amount  of  impurities  than  coal  No.  6.  Sulphur  occurs  as 
lenses,  bands,  stringers,  and  plates  along  bedding  planes  and  cleavage 
faces.  Because  of  its  large  amount,  it  forms  a  valuable  by-product 
and  at  one  mine  a  large  equipment  has  been  installed  to  separate  it 
from  the  coal  and  to  prepare  it  for  the  market. 

The  following  notes  and  sections  were  made  in  various  mines 
where  coal  No.  7  is  or  has  been  operated. 

ELECTRIC  MINE,  SW.  %  NW.  ^  SEC.  10,  T,  IQ  N.,  R.  12  W.  (ABANDONED) 

Maximum  thickness,  6  feet  6  inches ;  minimum,  4  feet ;  average,  5  feet  6 
inches.  Bed  is  separated  into  two  benches  by  a  1-inch  clay  band  6  to  10  inches 
from  the  floor.  Upper  bench  is  very  hard,  bright,  and  brittle ;  the  lower  bench  is 
slightly  darker  and  softer.  One  sulphur  band  ^2  inch  to  1^2  inch  in  thickness 
was  traced  for  more  than  300  feet. 


52 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Section  in  room  i6  main  south  entry 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Coal,  bright  and  blocky  having  fairly 
well-developed  cleavage  planes  filled 
with  calcite  and  pyrite.  Alternating 
charcoal  and  bright  layers  from  % 
inch  to  ^2  inch  thick.  Large  number 
of  disseminated  pyrite  balls  and 

lenses  . 

Clay  parting  containing  variable  amounts 

of  pyrite  . 

Lower  bench  generally  similar  to  upper, 
but  contains  more  dirt  . 

Ft. 

5 

In. 

0 

1 

10 

Ft. 

5 

5 

5 

In. 

0 

1 

11 

Section  in  room  ij 

on  15th  N.  entry 

Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

I  n. 

Ft. 

In. 

Coal,  hard,  bright  . 

1 

9 

1 

9 

Sulphur  . 

•  • 

1 

1 

10 

Coal,  hard  . 

•  • 

8^2 

2 

6/2 

Sulphur  . 

•  . 

V2 

2 

7 

Coal,  hard,  bright . 

2 

4/2 

4 

ID/2 

Clay  band  . 

.  . 

V2 

5 

•  . 

Coal,  hard,  bright  . 

9 

F* 

D 

9 

FAIRMOUNT  COAL  CO.,  BENNET  STATION  MINE,  SE.^  NE.J4  SEC.  34,  T.  IQ  N.,  R.  I3  W. 

Maximum  thickness,  6  feet;  minimum,  2  feet  6  inches;  average,  5  feet. 
Several  bands  of  bone  pyrite  or  clay  or  a  mixture  of  the  three  are  interbedded 
with  the  coal ;  a  parting  of  carbonaceous  clay  containing  sulphur  is  present  3  to 
8  inches  above  the  bottom,  and  a  2-inch  band  of  bone  coal  and  pyrite  20  to 
26  inches  above  the  floor  is  likewise  persistent.  The  cleat  is  marked  in  places, 
but  it  does  not  determine  the  turning  of  rooms  nor  the  driving  of  entries. 


Section  of  face,  4tli  NIV.  entry 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Coal,  bright,  with  vertical  calcite  veins ; 
fairly  soft,  having  a  banded  texture 
and  containing  a  parting  1  foot  from 

the  top  . 

1 

7 

1 

/ 

Sulphur  . 

•  • 

1 

1 

8 

Coal,  duller  than  above,  fewer  calcite 

veins . 

1 

1 

2 

9 

Bone  and  pyrite . 

•  . 

2 

2 

11 

Coal,  dirtv  and  dull,  some  calcite . 

1 

6 

4 

5 

Sulphur  . 

.  . 

1 

4 

6 

Coal,  dull  lustre  . 

•  • 

3 

4 

9 

COAL  BEDS  OF  DISTRICT  VIII 


53 


Section,  2nd  south  entry 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Coal,  dirty,  with  brown  streak . 

3 

8 

3 

8 

Sulphur  and  black  jack  . 

0 

3 

3 

11 

Coal  . 

•  • 

8 

4 

7 

Sulphur  . 

•  . 

3 

4 

10 

Coal  . 

5 

5 

3 

OAKLAND  COAL  CO.,  S.J^  SW.J4  SEC.  l8,  T.  IQ  N.,  R.  12  W. 

Section,  main  entry,  50  yards  north  of  shaft 


Description  of  strata 

Thickness 

Depth 

Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

Coal,  with  sulphur  lenses  up  to  2  in.  x  10 

in . 

3 

4j^ 

3 

4/2 

Clay,  hard . 

•  • 

Vz 

3 

5 

Coal,  same  as  above  . 

1 

7/2 

5 

V2 

Hard  band  . 

1 

5 

Ik^ 

Coal,  same  as  above . 

•  • 

11 

6 

11/2 

ROOF 

The  regular  roof  of  coal  No.  7  is  a  black  shale  of  variable  thick¬ 
ness,  overlain  by  a  gray  shale  cap  rock  whose  thickness  depends  on 
the  amount  of  erosion  it  has  undergone.  At  Electric  mine  the  black 
shale  ranges  from  a  few  inches  to  two  feet,  the  latter  thickness  fur¬ 
nishing  a  fairly  efficient  roof.  Where  only  a  small  amount  of  shale 
is  present,  it  falls  readily  and  is  treated  as  a  draw  slate.  The  black 
shale  carries  considerable  pyrite  which  oxidizes  to  ferrous  sulphate 
and  covers  the  surface  with  a  white  powder.  In  a  few  places,  the 
black  shale  is  absent,  and  the  gray  shale  cap  rock  rests  on  the  coal. 

In  parts  of  the  Electric  mine  the  coal  is  very  close  to  the  rock 
surface,  the  roof  strata  having  a  thickness  of  less  than  ten  feet. 
Where  rooms  are  driven  in  such  areas,  the  roof  breaks  and  allows 
sand  and  water  from  the  drift  above  to  flood  that  part  of  the  mine. 
In  most  cases  the  flow  of  water  decreases  rapidly,  and  the  damage  is 
only  temporary.  At  the  shaft  of  the  Electric  mine  the  gray  shale  cap 
rock  is  51  feet  thick,  and  the  same  material  is  noted  in  practically  all 
of  the  logs  of  the  district.  The  bed  is  utilized  in  different  parts  of 
the  region  for  the  manufacture  of  brick  and  tile,  the  largest  plant 
being  that  of  the  Western  Brick  Company  near  Danville.  The  shale 
contains  numerous  ironstone  concretions  which  must  be  removed  be¬ 
fore  grinding.  The  roof  of  coal  No.  7  “rolls”  as  does  that  of  coal  No.  6, 
but  the  rolls  are  not  so  extensive  in  the  former. 


54 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


FLOOR 

Coal  No.  7  lies  directly  upon  a  6-  to  8-inch  bed  of  clay  which 
heaves  badly.  Subjacent  to  this  layer  are  5  feet  of  hard  clay  and  a 
lenticular  bed  of  coal  about  1  foot  thick.  At  Bennet  Station  the 
floor  heaves  only  slightly.  A  streak  of  coal  ranging  in  thickness  from 
^  to  3  inches  lies  6  to  8  inches  below  the  base  of  coal  No.  7,  and 
below  this  is  15  feet  of  clay  containing  ironstone  concretions. 

Coal  No.  2 

The  outcrop  of  coal  No.  2  has  not  been  determined  within  Ver¬ 
milion  County.  Its  horizon  is  traceable  south  from  the  line  between 
Tps.  20  and  21  N.  and  east  from  the  range  line  between  Rs.  12  and 
13  W.  North  of  the  township  line  it  is  known  to  be  absent  by  the 
records  from  wells  at  Rossville,  Reilly,  and  Rankin,  all  of  which 
started  below  its  horizon.  West  of  the  range  line  it  is  not  reported 
in  either  the  Sidell  or  the  Allerton  wells,  though  they  commenced 
above  its  horizon. 

According  to  Campbell’s  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Folio  67.  this 
coal  is  mined  on  Coal  Branch  for  local  consumption,  but  is  so  split 
by  shale  bands  as  to  be  of  inferior  value.  The  structure  of  the  beds 
is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  coal  No.  6,  and  the  depth  to  its  hori¬ 
zon  may  be  obtained  by  adding  the  distance  between  it  and  coal  No.  6, 
averaging  about  182  feet,  to  the  distance  of  coal  No.  6  below  the  surface 
in  that  locality. 

Since  the  coal  does  not  outcrop  in  Illinois,  drill  records  furnish 
the  only  available  information  as  to  its  thickness  and  character.  The 
logs  show  2  to  4  layers  of  coal  separated  by  bands  of  shale  or  lime¬ 
stone;  the  coal  beds  vary  from  a  few  inches  to  3  feet  in  thickness 
with  partings  variable  in  thickness  up  to  20  feet. 

CHEMICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OE  THE  COALS  NO.  6 

AND  NO.  7 

The  following  table  shows  the  chemical  quality  of  coals  No.  6 
and  No.  7  in  District  VHL  The  figures  for  coal  No.  6  are  based  on 
31  samples,  and  18  samples  furnish  the  averages  for  coal  No.  7. 

The  samples  were  made  at  the  face  in  the  following  manner :  A 
fresh  face  which  represented  average  conditions,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
was  cleaned  by  taking  off  a  layer  of  2  or  3  inches,  after  which  all 
loose  pieces  were  removed  from  the  immediate  roof.  A  large  piece 
of  oilcloth  was  then  spread  on  the  floor,  and  a  strip  of  coal  amount¬ 
ing  to  at  least  five  pounds  to  the  foot  was  cut  down  from  top  to  bot¬ 
tom.  Any  bone,  “blue  band”,  sulphur,  or  other  impurity  exceeding 
three-eighths  inch  in  thickness  was  discarded.  Instead  of  next  being 


CHEMICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  COALS 


55 


quartered,  as  in  some  earlier  collections,  the  entire  sample  was  quickly 
ground  to  one-eighth  inch  size  or  smaller  in  a  special  grinder  (fig.  3). 
The  coal  was  then  reduced  repeatedly  by  means  of  a  mechanical 
riffle  (fig.  4)  to  a  sample  weighing  5  pounds,  which  was  placed  in  an 
air-tight  can.  This  method  yielded  results  which  were  more  free 
from  accidental  or  personal  error  than  any  of  our  previous  efforts. 

As  a  further  improvement,  samples  were  taken  from  three  to 
six  places  in  each  mine,  and  duplicates  were  frequently  sent  to  the 
laboratory  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines,  so  results  could  be  com¬ 
pared  with  those  obtained  at  Urbana.  The  laboratory  work  was  done 
in  the  laboratory  of  the  University  of  Illinois,  under  direction  of  Prof. 
S.  W.  Parr,  by  J.  M.  Lindgren  and  assistants. 

Average  analysis  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7  from  District  VIII 

Face  samples 

Values  are  for  coal  as  received 


Bed 

Moist- 

Volatile 

Fixed 

Ash 

Sul- 

B.  t.  u. 

Number  of  samples 

ure 

matter 

carbon 

phur 

averaged 

6 

14.45 

35.88 

40.33 

9.34 

2.55 

10919 

31  from  4  mines 

7 

12.99 

38.29 

38.75 

9.98 

2.93 

11143 

18  from  2  mines 

The  two  coals  are  not  widely  different  in  chemical  quality.  The 
higher  percentage  of  sulphur  in  coal  No.  7  renders  it  the  less  suitable 
for  domestic  use.  It  also  contains  more  volatile  matter  which  escapes 
burning  in  the  ordinary  stove,  and  its  heat  value  is  largely  lost.  With 
perfect  combustion  coal  No.  7  furnishes  more  actual  heat  units  per 
pound  than  coal  No.  6.  The  latter  coal  has  a  slight  advantage  in  its 
lower  per  cent  of  ash. 

Coal  No.  6  in  this  district  contains  less  sulphur  than  that  in  any 
of  the  districts  except  Franklin  and  Williamson  counties.  Coal  No. 
2  mined  at  Murphysboro  is  the  only  other  bed  in  which  the  sulphur 
content  is  lower.  A  considerable  amount  of  the  pyrite  in  the  Grape 
Creek  bed  exists  in  horizontal  and  vertical  bands  instead  of  being 
disseminated  throughout  the  bed,  and  it  is  possible  to  produce  a  1 
per  cent  sulphur  coal  by  careful  hand  jficking  or  by  washing.  The 
washed  coal  from  this  bed  makes  coke  of  as  good  quality  as  that  from 
any  Illinois  coal  thus  far  tested. 

The  high  moisture  content  of  the  Danville  coal  beds  allies  them 
with  the  other  beds  of  northern  Illinois,  including  the  Springfield 
district.  From  this  part  of  the  State,  the  per  cent  of  moisture  decreases 
southward,  the  Harrisburg  coal  containing  only  half  as  much  as  those  at 
Danville. 


56 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


SUMMARY  OF  COAL  RESOURCES 

In  estimating  the  coal  tonnage  for  the  Danville  district  attention 
has  been  limited  to  beds  No.  6  and  No.  7  in  Tps.  17,  18,  19,  and  20  N., 
Rs.  11  and  12  W.,  since  in  this  area  sufficient  drilling  has  been  done 
to  show  the  areal  distribution  and  the  thickness  of  the  beds. 

Table  4  shows  the  original  tonnage  for  beds  No.  6  and  No.  7 
in  the  area  mentioned  above. 


Table  4 — Estimate  of  original  tonnage  of  coals  No.  6  and  No.  y  in  Tps.  ly,  i8, 
ig,  and  20  N .,  Rs.  ii  and  12  W.,  Vermilion  County,  111. 


Bed 

Area 

Average 

thickness 

Original 

tonnage 

Sq.  mi. 

Ft. 

In. 

Short  tons 

6 

126 

6 

0 

856,396,800 

6 

44.5 

2 

9 

138,626,400 

6 

16.5 

4 

0 

74,764,800 

Total  No.  6 . 

. 1,069,788,000 

7 

50 

5 

0 

283,200,000 

7 

88 

2 

3 

224,294,400 

Total  No.  7 . 

. 507,494,400 

Grand  total . 

. 1,577,282,400 

According  to  statistics  published  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 
there  have  been  mined  in  Vermilion  County  from  1881  to  1913  in¬ 
clusive,  57,908,547  tons  of  coal.  It  has  been  found^  that  the  average 
recovery  in  the  district  is  70  per  cent  of  the  total  coal,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  process  of  mining  has  rendered  24,817,949  tons  unre¬ 
coverable.  For  purposes  of  estimation,  therefore,  82,726,496  tons  of 
coal  have  been  mined  or  made  unavailable  in  the  district.  There  re¬ 
mains  in  the  ground  1,494,555,904  tons,  of  which  approximately 
1,046,189,133  tons  are  recoverable  under  present  methods. 

APPENDIX 
Stratigraphic  Sections 

INTRODUCTORY  STATEMENT 

Knowledge  of  the  rocks  older  than  the  Pennsylvanian  is  obtained 
from  a  study  of  the  logs  of  eight  drill  holes  within  the  county  and  one 
in  Indiana.  For  ease  of  comparison  these  logs  have  been  arranged 
graphically  into  two  groups,  so  that  along  a  northwest-southeast  line 
from  Danville  to  Danville  Junction,  five  logs  serve  to  show  the  strati¬ 
graphic  relations  of  the  beds  between  the  two  places  (see  Plate  VI). 

“Andros,  S.  O.,  Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  VIII  (Danville)  :  Ill.  Coal  Mining 
Investigations  Dull.  2,  1914. 


APPENDIX 


57 


The  position  of  the  cross-section  is  indicated  on  the  large  map  accom¬ 
panying  the  report  by  line  MN. 

The  remaining  four  holes  lie  along  a  line  in  a  direction  slightly 
north  of  east,  passing  through  Allerton,  Sided,  and  Vermilion  Grove, 
thence  northeast  to  sec.  30,  T.  18  N.,  R.  10  W.  in  Indiana.  It  will 
be  referred  to  as  cross-section  HI. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  SECTION  MN 
TRENTON  FORMATION 

The  drill  hole  at  Reilly  stopped  345  feet  in  the  Trenton  forma¬ 
tion.  Two  other  wells  in  the  county  penetrate  the  same  horizon. 
Quoting  again  from  Weller:  “The  Trenton  is  in  general  a  more  or 
less  crystalline,  heavy-bedded,  buff-colored  dolomite,  some  portions 
of  which  carry  chert.  At  the  base  there  are  a  few  feet  of  thin-bedded 
limestones,  and  at  the  summit  of  the  formation  the  dolomite  is  thin 
bedded  through  a  thickness  of  30  feet.”^ 

CINCINNATIAN  FORMATION 

The  Cincinnatian  is  represented  by  an  alternating  series  of  lime¬ 
stones  and  shales,  varying  in  thickness  from  200  to  295  feet.  “The 
beds  of  this  age  vary  greatly  in  lithologic  character  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  State  where  they  are  exposed  and  seem  to  be  limited  to 
the  uppermost  or  Richmond  division  of  the  formation,  as  it  is  more 
completely  developed  in  the  region  lying  east  of  the  Cincinnatian 
arch.  In  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State  the  formation  is  rep¬ 
resented  by  the  Maquoketa  which  is,  in  the  main,  a  bed  of  blue  or 
green  clay  shale  with  occasional  bands  of  dolomite  and  limestone. 

“In  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  State  the  Cincinnatian  beds 
are  *  *  *  more  calcareous  than  along  the  Mississippi,  and  contain  an 
abundant  fauna  of  the  Richmond  type.”^ 

NIAGARAN  FORMATION 

The  Niagaran  formation  is  a  series  of  massive  limestones  having 
in  Vermilion  County  a  recorded  thickness  of  530  to  575  feet.  De¬ 
scribing  this  formation  Stuart  Weller  says:  “In  northeastern  Illinois 
the  Niagaran  limestone  occupies  a  great  area  extending  from  central 
Iroquois  County  to  the  Wisconsin  state  line;  in  this  region  the  beds 
attain  a  thickness  of  from  300  to  388  feet,  and  consist,  for  the  most 
part,  of  more  or  less  massive  dolomites  of  a  bluish  or  buff  color  *  *  *. 
In  the  lower  portion  of  the  series,  however,  there  are  also  some  shaly 


^Weller,  Stuart,  the  geological  map  of  Illinois:  Ill,  State  Geol.  Survey,  Bull.  No.  6, 
p.  16,  1907. 

^Idem,  p.  17. 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


■  58 

beds.”'’^  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  the  formation  apparently 
thickens  southward. 


DEVONIAN  FORMATION 

The  Devonian  shales  are  the  most  easily  recognized  beds  below 
coal  No.  2  (?),  and  the  top  of  this  formation  forms  an  excellent  key 
horizon  for  correlation.  Its  thickness  is  recorded  at  Rankin  as  130 
feet;  at  Reilly  as  135;  and  the  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  drilling,  No.  51, 
stopped  25  feet  in  this  shale.  Danville  and  Danville  Junction  records 
show  70  and  90  feet  respectively.  The  shales  vary  in  color  from  white 
and  brown  to  blue  and  black. 


CARBONIFEROUS  FORMATIONS 

In  the  hole  at  Rankin  only  50  feet  of  Pennsylvanian  shales  under¬ 
lies  the  drift.  The  IMississippian  strata,  the  top  bed  of  which  is  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  limestone  below  the  shales  just  mentioned,  have  a  thick¬ 
ness  of  only  120  feet  in  this  hole,  whereas  southeast  of  Reilly  they 
attain  a  thickness  of  175  feet.  Further  southeast  the  C.  C.  C.  &  St. 
L.  Railroad  prospect.  No.  51,  drilled  in  sec.  6,  T.  20  N.,  R.  12  \\^ 
shows  a  thickness  of  270  feet,  whereas  the  wells  at  Danville  water¬ 
works,  and  Danville  Junction  report  470  and  445  feet  respectively  for 
the  Mississippian.  The  series  is  composed  of  limestones,  shales,  and 
sandstones,  the  last  two  predominating. 


Record  of  Ruddy  Farm  Well,  Strohecker,  Sammis,  and  Cooper,  NEy^  SEd/i 

sec.  II,  T.  23  N.,  R.  14  W. 


(Elevation — 718  feet) 
See  Plate  VI,  No.  1 


Description  of  strata 
Drift- 

Soil  and  clay . 

Gravel,  thin,  fine  . . . 

Clay  . 

Gravel  and  water  . . . 
Pennsylvanian — 

“Slate”  rock,  thin  . . . 
Mississippian — 

Limestone,  thin  . .  . . 
“Slate”  and  rock  . . . 

Limestone  . 

Devonian — 

“Slate”  and  rock  . . . . 
Silurian — 

Limestone . 

Sandstone,  brown  . . . 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

80 

80 

97 

177 

33 

210 

. .  150 

360 

50 

410 

..20 

430 

40 

470 

60 

530 

..  130 

660 

30 

690 

40 

730 

’Idem,  p.  18. 


ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 

COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


Bulletin  h,  plate  vi 


5 


Cross-section  MN  showing  characteristcs  of  pre-Pennsylvanian  rocks,  north  half  of  Vermilion  County 

(For  location  see  Plate  II) 


APPENDIX 


59 


Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Feet 

Feet 

Limestone  . 

.  160 

890 

“Slate"  . 

.  10 

900 

Limestone  . 

.  290 

1190 

Ordovician — 

“Slate”,  blue  . 

.  60 

1250 

Limestone  . 

.  no 

1360 

“Slate”,  brown  . 

.  115 

1475 

Record  of  Martha  Ruddick  farm  well,  Strohecker,  Sammis,  and  Cooper,  SJV.j4 

SlVdA  sec.  32,  T.  23,  N.,  13  W. 

(Estimated  elevation — 770  feet) 

See  Plate  VI,  No.  2 


Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Feet 

Feet 

Drift— 

Sand  and  gravel  . 

.  356 

356 

Pennsylvanian — 

Shale  and  slate  . 

34 

390 

Coal  . 

3 

393 

“Slate”  . 

60 

453 

Mississippian — 

Limestone  . 

20 

473 

“Slate”  . 

47 

520 

Sandstone,  brown . 

10 

530 

“Slate”  . 

55 

585 

Limestone  . 

45 

630 

Devonian — 

“Slate”,  white  . 

45 

675 

Shale,  brown  . 

90 

765 

Silurian — 

Sandstone,  brown  (water)  . 

20 

785 

Limestone  . 

.  560 

1345 

Ordovician — 

“Slate”  . 

55 

1400 

Limestone  . 

61 

1461 

“Slate”  and  shale  . 

82 

1543 

Limestone  . 

.  345 

1888 

I 'or  log  of  No.  3  (cross-section  MN  )  see  page  17. 

Record  of  Danville  artesian  well 

See  Plate  VI,  No.  4 

Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Feet 

Feet 

Drift— 

Soil . 

10 

10 

Pennsylvanian — 

Soapstone  . 

.  285 

295 

Sandstone,  coarse . 

10 

305 

Soapstone  . 

10 

315 

60 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Feet 

Feet 

Sandstone  . 

.  100 

415 

Soapstone  . 

.  15 

430 

Sandstone,  gray  . 

.  10 

440 

Shale,  blue,  sandy . 

.  80 

520 

Quartz  or  pebble  rock . 

.  10 

530 

Mississippian — 

Shale,  sandy . 

.  145 

675 

Limestone,  gray,  hard  . 

.  30 

705 

Sandstone  . 

.  30 

735 

Shale,  blue,  clayey . 

.  30 

765 

Pebble,  or  flint  rock . 

.  30 

795 

Shale,  blue,  hard . 

.  90 

885 

Sandstone,  gray  . 

.  40 

925 

Shale,  blue,  hard . 

.  45 

970 

Shale,  light  green  . 

.  30 

1000 

Devonian — 

“Slate”,  black  . 

.  75 

1075 

Silurian — 

• 

Limestone . 

.  74 

1149 

Record  of  Chicago  and  Eastern  III.  R.  R.  Co.  well,  NW.  cor.  SE.]/l  SW.]/^ 

sec.  4,  T.  ig  N.,  R.  ii  W. 

(Elevation — 615  feet) 


See  Plate  VI,  No.  5 


Description  of  strata 
Drift — 

Soil,  yellow,  clay  and  gravel. 

Clay,  blue  . 

Hard  pan  . 

Clay,  blue,  and  gravel . 

Loam,  fine,  sandy . 

Sand,  clay,  and  coarse  gravel 

Unidentified  . 

Clay,  blue,  tough . 

Clay,  blue,  tough  . 

Sand  and  gravel  . 

Pennsylvanian — 

Slate,  hard,  black,  some  coal 

Soapstone,  drab  . 

Soapstone,  drab  blue . 

Soapstone,  drab  blue  . 

Sandstone,  coarse,  white  . . . 

Coal  . 

Clay,  blue,  or  soapstone.... 
Clay,  blue,  or  soapstone.... 

Rock,  hard,  flinty . 

“Slate”,  dark  blue  . 

Soapstone,  brown . 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

20 

20 

15 

35 

30 

65 

15 

80 

10 

90 

50 

140 

8 

148 

5 

153 

20 

173 

o 

175 

6 

181 

20 

201 

32 

233 

10 

243 

10 

253 

6 

259 

20 

279 

55 

334 

9 

336 

35 

371 

20 

391 

APPENDIX 


61 

Thickness  Depth 

Description  of  strata  Feet  Feet 

Clay,  red  .  11  402 

Sandstone,  white,  soft  .  68  470 

Clay,  red,  tough  .  20  490 

Sandstone,  brown,  coarse  .  27  517 

Sandstone,  brown,  fine  .  40  557 

Sandstone,  white,  fine .  30  587 

Mississippian — 

Clay,  dark  blue  .  73  660 

Rock,  hard,  pebble .  10  670 

Clay,  white,  fine  .  36  706 

Rock,  hard,  pebble .  6  712 

Shale,  dark  blue  .  96  808 

Shale,  light  blue,  soft  .  65  873 

Shale,  dark  blue,  soft .  18  891 

Shale,  red  .  62  953 

Shale,  light  green .  57  1010 

Limestone,  gray,  hard .  25  1035 

Devonian — 

Slate,  black  .  90  1125 

Silurian — • 

Limestone,  gray,  hard .  51  1176 

Limestone,  coarse,  soft  (sulphur  water)  .  10  1186 

Limestone,  white  and  dark  blue .  160  1346 

Limestone,  white,  soft  (sulphur  water) .  12  1358 

Limestone,  light  and  dark .  342  1700 

Ordovician — 

Sandstone,  white  (strong  salt  water) .  35  1735 

Shale,  clayey  .  110  1845 

Limestone,  hard,  gray  .  26  1871 

Limestone,  dark  blue  .  65  1936 

Shale,  blue,  hard .  57  1993 

Limestone,  reddish  .  15  2008 

DESCRIPTION  OF  SECTION  HI 
GENERAL  STRUCTURE 

Section  HI  presents  both  the  stratigraphy  and  structure  of  the 
beds  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  From  the  Indiana  well  the 
formations  dip  to  the  west  toward  the  center  of  the  coal  basin. 
West  of  Sided,  however,  the  dip  is  interrupted  by  the  La  Salle  anti¬ 
cline,  and  the  rocks  rise  toward  its  crest. 

CINCINNATIAN  AND  TRENTON  FORMATIONS 

The  Cincinnatian  in  the  Richard  well,  which  is  the  only  liole 
penetrating  the  formation,  is  represented  by  320  feet  of  sand  and 
shale.  Drilling  stopped  in  the  Trenton  after  passing  through  47  feet 
of  limestone. 


62 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


NIAGARAN  FORMATION 

At  present  the  Allerton  drilling  records  160  feet  of  cherty  lime¬ 
stone  and  dolomite  of  the  Niagaran.  Dr.  Holten’s  well  at  Sidell 
records  this  limestone  series  as  shaly  toward  the  top  and  gives  the 
total  thickness  of  the  formation  as  310  feet.  Richard’s  well  shows 
a  continuous  limestone  section  of  370  feet. 

DEVONIAN  FORMATION 

The  well  at  Allerton  is  the  only  one  in  which  the  Devonian  is 
positively  identified.  Samples  from  this  well  disclose  the  presence 
of  fossils  which  T.  E.  Savage  of  this  Survey  identifies  as  Sporangitcs 
huronense,  a  characteristic  fossil  of  the  upper  Devonian.  At  Sidell 
80  feet  of  slate  at  a  depth  of  845  feet  is  tentatively  called  the  De¬ 
vonian.  F.  E.  Richard’s  well  in  sec  20,  T.  17  N.,  R.  11  W".  records 
at  755  a  45-foot  shale,  apparently  Devonian.  The  85-foot  shale 
at  883  feet  in  the  Indiana  well  is  thought  to  be  Devonian,  and  the 
underlying  material,  reported  to  be  sandstone  by  the  driller,  is  prob¬ 
ably  a  dolomite,  the  top  of  the  Niagaran.  This  error  is  common  as 
particles  of  dolomite  brought  up  by  the  bailer  have  the  appearance 
of  sand  grains  and  do  not  react  with  acid. 

CARBONIFEROUS  FORMATIONS 

The  thickness  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series,  as  shown  by  these 
records,  remains  fairly  constant.  The  Mississippian  beds  thin  west¬ 
ward  from  125  feet  in  sec.  30,  T.  18  N.,  R.  12  W.  to  12  feet  at  Sidell, 
but  increase  to  50  feet  at  Allerton.  The  record  of  the  Allerton  well 
is  unfortunately  of  so  general  a  character  above  the  Devonian,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  diflferentiate  the  Pennsylvanian  from  the  Mississip¬ 
pian. 

Record  of  Allerton  farm  well,  Vermilion  Oil  Co.,  sec.  22,  T.  ly  N.,  R.  14  W. 

(Estimated  elevation — 698  feet) 

Interpreted  by  T.  E.  Savage 
See  Plate  VII,  No.  6 

Thickness  Depth 


Description  of  strata  Feet  Feet 

Drift- 

Soil  .  10  10 

Till,  gray,  sandy,  with  small  pebbles .  50  60 

Till,  gray,  pink,  pebbles,  small  .  20  80 

Till,  yellow  and  brown,  small  pebbles .  25  105 

Till,  gray;  fine  sand  and  small  pebbles .  100  205 

Pennsylvanian — 

Shale,  black,  pyritic,  containing  impure  coal .  8  213 

Shale,  light  gray,  sandy  .  47  260 


APPENDIX 


Description  of  strata 
IMississippian — 

Sandstone,  gray,  calcareous  . 

Sandstone,  more  calcareous  . 

Sandstone,  gray,  fine  and  medium  grained . 

Sandstone,  gray,  fine  grained,  micaceous  and  calcar¬ 
eous  . 

Sandstone,  gray,  very  fine  grained  . 

Sandstone,  calcareous,  very  fine  grained . 

Sandstone,  very  calcareous,  fine  grained;  much  pyrite. 

Shale,  gray;  some  very  fine  pyritiferous  sand . 

Shale,  gray . 

Sandstone,  shaly,  dark  gray . 

Upper  Devonian — 

Shale,  dark,  containing  Sporangites  hiironcnse . 

Shale,  gray  and  dark,  with  pyrite . 

Middle  Devonian — 

Sandstone,  gray,  calcareous . 

Limestone,  gray  to  light  brown,  crystalline,  contain¬ 
ing  glassy  quartz  grains  and  light  chert  fragments 
Limestone,  light  gray,  crystalline,  containing  chert 

fragments  . 

Silurian  (Niagaran)  — 

Dolomite,  gray,  fine  grained,  crystalline . 

Dolomite,  light  gray,  fine  grained,  crystalline . 


63 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

20 

280 

65 

345 

10 

355 

200 

555 

15 

570 

20 

590 

35 

625 

5 

630 

30 

660 

20 

680 

20 

700 

30 

730 

30 

760 

40 

800 

15 

815 

25 

840 

80 

920 

Record  of  Holtcn  prospect,  NW.  cor.  SW.yf^  see.  26,  T,  ly  N.,  R.  is  W. 

(Estimated  elevation — 650  feet) 

See  Plate  VII,  No.  7 


Description  of  strata 
Drift- 

Black  dirt  . 

Clay,  yellow  . 

Sand  and  gravel  . 

Clay,  light  . 

Pennsylvanian — 

Shale,  red  . 

Shale,  light  . 

Limestone  and  shale  . . . 

Shale,  brown  . 

Coal  . 

Shale  . 

Coal  . 

Shale,  brown  . 

Limerock,  very  hard  .  .  ,  . 

Sand  . 

Sand  (salt  water)  .... 

“Slate”  . 

Limestone,  hard  . 

Sand  (salt  water  at  780) 


Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 


3 

3 

10 

13 

42 

55 

no 

165 

30 

195 

135 

330 

10 

340 

50 

390 

2 

392 

63 

455 

7 

462 

123 

585 

45 

630 

82 

712 

13 

725 

5 

730 

20 

750 

70 

820 

64 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Feet 

Feet 

Mississippian — 

Lime  and  slate  (mixed)  . 

25 

845 

Devonian — 

“Slate”  . 

80 

925 

Silurian — 

“Slate”  and  lime  (mixed)  . 

..  115 

1040 

Limestone  . 

..  195 

1235 

Sand  (salt  water)  . 

68 

1303 

Record  of  F.  E.  Richard  farm  well,  NW.  cor.  NE.y^ 

SE.%  sec.  20, 

T.  17  X., 

R.  II  W. 

(Estimated  elevation — 663  feet) 

See  Plate  VII,  No.  8 

Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Eect 

Feet 

Drift— 

Clay  . 

40 

40 

Gravel,  drv . 

4 

44 

Clay  . 

50 

94 

Pennsylvanian — 

Coal  . 

1 

95 

Limestone  . 

20 

115 

“Slate”,  soft . 

. .  165 

280 

Limestone  . 

2 

282 

“Slate”,  black . 

4 

286 

“Slate”,  light  . 

104 

390 

Coal  . 

4 

394 

Sand  (salt)  . 

6 

400 

“Slate”  . 

13 

413 

“Slate”,  black  . 

32 

445 

“Slate”,  light  . 

10 

455 

“Slate”,  black  . 

55 

510 

Sand . 

75 

585 

“Slate”  . . . 

50 

635 

Sand . 

5 

640 

Mississippian — 

Limestone  . 

30 

670 

“Slate”  . 

20 

690 

Limestone  . 

65 

755 

Devonian — 

“Slate”  . 

. . . .  45 

800 

Silurian — 

Limestone  . 

. .  250 

1050 

Limestone,  blue . 

25 

1075 

Limestone  . 

75 

1150 

Limestone  .  . 

20 

1170 

“Slate”  . 

1175 

t 


ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


BULLETIN  14,  PLATE  VII 


COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT 


APPENDIX 

65 

Thickness 

Depth 

Description  of  strata 

Feet 

Feet 

Ordovician — 

Sand  . 

.  20 

1195 

“Slate”  . 

.  10 

1205 

Sand  . 

.  46 

1251 

“Slate”  . 

.  5 

1256 

Sand  . : . . . 

.  68 

1324 

“Slate”  . 

.  56 

1380 

Shale  . 

.  25 

1405 

“Slate”  . 

.  85 

1490 

Trenton  rock  . 

.  47 

1537 

Record  of  Hall  loell,  N^o.  i  SW.  cor  NlVJ/i  NEd/l  sec.  30,  T.  18  N.,  R.  10  W. 

(Elevation — 611  feet) 

See  Plate  VII,  No.  9 

Thickness  Depth 


Description  of  strata  Feet  Feet 

Drift- 

Soil,  yellow  clay,  blue  clay  .  70  70 

Sand  and  clay  .  3  73 

Clay,  yellow  .  5  78 

Pennsylvanian — 

Shale,  brown  .  78  106 

Limestone,  gray,  hard .  5  111 

Sandstone,  gray,  dark,  soft,  with  smut  on  water .  13  124 

Shale,  brown,  sandy  .  2  126 

Shale,  brown  .  5  131 

Fire  clay  .  5  136 

Sandstone,  white,  soft,  fine,  waxy .  5  141 

Sandstone,  a  little  coarser  (slight  trace  of  oil) .  15  156 

Sandstone,  white,  fine,  mica  specks .  8  164 

Shale,  brown  .  7  171 

“Slate”,  black .  10  181 

Shale,  brown,  and  soapstone .  9  190 

Coal  .  2  192 

Fire  clay  .  4  196 

Shale,  brown  .  4  200 

Coal  .  5  205 

Hard  shell  .  3  208 

Clay,  white,  fine  .  8  216 

Clay  or  “slate”,  white,  smooth .  19  233 

Sandstone,  white,  fine,  waxy .  9  244 

Shale,  brown  .  21  265 

Sandstone,  white,  coarse  .  15  280 

Shale,  brown  and  black  .  36  316 

Fire  clay  .  5  321 

Shale,  dark  .  5  326 

“Slate”  and  sand  shells  .  5  331 

Sand,  white,  fine,  soft  .  5  336 

Sand,  with  lime  shell .  5  341 


66 


COAL  MINING  INVESTIGATIONS 


Thickness  Depth 


Description  of  strata  Feet  Feet 

Sand  .  5  346 

Sandstone,  white,  fine  (salt)  .  39  385 

Sandstone  and  hard  shell .  5  390 

Sandstone,  white,  fine .  5  395 

Sandstone,  brown,  coarser  .  25  420 

Sandstone,  grayish,  fine .  21  441 

Sandstone,  light  gray,  soft .  6  447 

Sandstone,  white,  soft  .  12  459 

Sandstone,  very  fine  .  11  470 

Sandstone,  white,  soft,  fine  .  10  480 

Sandstone,  gray,  soft  .  10  490 

Sandstone  containing  pyrite  with  black  smut  (small 

show  of  oil)  and  coarser .  8  498 

“Slate”,  black,  pyrite  .  3  501 

Shale  or  “slate”,  blue .  19  520 

Shale  .  6  526 

Sandstone,  gray,  fine,  soft  .  29  555 

Sandstone,  very  fine .  10  565 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  21  586 

Sandstone,  small  particles  of  red  and  white  sand....  18  604 

Sandstone,  wdiite  and  muddy,  soft  .  30  634 

Mississippian — 

Shale,  gray,  sandy  .  54  688 

Shale  and  slaty  shells  .  72  760 

Sandstone,  gray,  soft,  dirty  .  30  790 

Soapstone  .  12  802 

Shale,  gray,  sandy  .  6  808 

Shale,  blue,  smooth  .  6  814 

Shale,  gray,  sandy  .  33  847 

Sand,  dark  gray,  fine,  soft .  6  853 

Sand  (salt  water)  .  12  865 

Sand,  a  little  coarser .  6  871 

Devonian — 

Shale,  gray,  sandy  .  12  883 

Soapstone  .  12  895 

“Slate”,  blue  .  73  968 

Sandstone,  gray,  fine,  soft .  10  978 

Sandstone,  coarser  .  10  988 

Niagaran  (?)  — 

Sandstone,  light  gray,  fine,  soft,  (salt  w^ater) .  48  1036 


INDEX 


A 


PAGE 


PAGE 


Allerton,  absence  of  coal  No.  2  at.  .  54 

absence  of  coal  No.  6  at .  32 

Carbondale  at  .  15 

log  of  well  at .  62 

B 

“Blue  band”  explained  .  39 

Bunsen  Coal  Co.,  acknowledg¬ 
ments  to  .  11 

levels  by  .  26 

section  of  coal  in  mine  of .  40 


Carbondale  formation,  discussion 

of  . 15-19 

Carboniferous  formations,  discus¬ 
sion  of  . 11-21,  58,  62 

Champaign  County,  structure  in...  27 

Clark  County,  structure  in .  27 

Cincinnatian  formation,  discussion 

of  . 57,  61 

C.  &  E.  I.  well,  log  of .  60 

C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.,  acknowledg¬ 
ments  to  .  11 

well  record  of .  58 

Coal,  formation  of  .  47 

Coal  No.  2,  absence  of .  14 

discussion  of  .  54 

in  Vermilion  County . 34-38 

position  of  .  15 

Coal  No.  6,  chemical  characteristics 

of_ . 54-55 

distribution  of .  26 

in  Danville  district  . 29-50 

near  Westville .  9 

position  of  .  15 

production  of  .  56 

structure  of  . 25-29 

Coal  No.  7,  chemical  characteristics 

of  . 54-55 

in  Little  Vermilion  mine .  41 

in  Danville  dis¬ 
trict  . . 9,  19,  29-30,  50-54 

production  of  .  56 

near  Fairmount .  9 

structure  of  .  28 


Danville  Junction,  “Coal  Measures” 

at .  58 

Dering  Coal  Co.,  acknowledgments 

to .  11 

levels  by  .  26 

section  in  mine  No.  4 . 39,  41 

Devonian  formation,  discussion 
of  . 58,  62 


E 

Edgar  County,  absence  of  data 


in . 24,  25,  29 

coal  No.  7  in .  50 

production  for .  9 

records  of  coals  in .  33 

Electric  mine,  log  of  shaft  of .  16 

coal  No.  7  in . 51,  53 

Elevations,  determinations  of .  26 

English,  C.  L.,  acknowledgments  to.  11 

F 

Fairmount,  coal  No.  7  near . 19,  50 

Fairmount  Coal  Co.,  coal  No.  7  in 
mine  of  .  52 


G 


Glacial  geology  . 21-24 

Georgetown,  drill  holes  near .  50 

elevation  of  coal  near .  25 

Grape  Creek  coal  (see  coal  No.  6).  9 

H 

Hall  well  No.  1,  log  of .  65 

Hamilton  County,  McLeansboro 

formation  in .  19 

structure  in  .  27 

Harrisburg  coal,  chemical  charac¬ 
teristics  of  .  55 

Hegler  Bros.,  acknowledgments  to.  11 

Hillery,  coal  No.  7  near .  50 

Holton  prospect,  log  of .  63 

I 

Indiana,  coal  field  in .  26 

correlation  of  coals  in .  16 

Iroquois  County,  Niagaran  in .  57 


D 

Danville,  coal  No.  7  near . 19  51 

log  of  well  in .  59 

pre-glacial  topography  in  vicinitv 

of  . '.  23 

Danville  Belt  Coal  Co.,  acknowledg¬ 
ments  to  .  11 

Danville  coal  (see  coal  No.  7)....  9 


K 


Kentucky,  coal  field  in .  26 

L 

La  Salle,  anticline  near  .  27 

La  Salle  anticline  in  Vermilion 
County .  50 


68 


INDEX — Continued 


PAGE 

Little  Vermilion  mine,  conditions 
in . 40,  41,  49 


Log  of  Allerton  farm  well .  62 

C.  &  E.  1.  well .  60 

C  C  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  No.  45...  21 

No.  51  .  17 

Danville  well  .  59 

Dering  Coal  Co.  No.  12 .  20 

No.  47 .  13 

No.  120 .  20 

Hall  well  No.  1 .  65 

Holton  prospect  .  63 

Richard  farm  well  .  64 

Ruddick  farm  well  .  59 

Ruddy  farm  well  .  58 

Lovington,  structure  near .  27 

M 

Mahomet,  Devonian  at .  13 

structure  near  .  27 

McLeansboro  formation,  discussion 

of^ . 17-21 

Alines  in  Vermilion  County . 9,  12 

Alississippian  series,  absence  of....  14 

Moultrie  County,  structure  in .  27 

“Alud  Vein,”  correlation  of .  15 

Aluncie,  coal  No.  7  at .  50 

N 

Niagaran  formation,  discussion 
of  . 57.  62 

O 

Olney,  structure  near  .  27 

P 

Peat,  process  of  formation  of .  47 

Pennsylvanian  series  (“Coal  Meas¬ 
ures”),  discussion  of . 11-21 

Pottsville  formation,  discussion  of  11-14 

gas  in .  14 

Production  of  coal .  9 

R 

Rankin,  absence  of  coal  No.  2  at..  54 
formations  at  . 15,  58 


PAGE 

Reilly,  absence  of  coal  No.  2  at. .  . .  54 

formations  at  . 15,  32,  57,  58 

Richard  well,  formations  in . 61,  62 

log  of .  64 

Richland  County,  structure  in .  27 

Ridge  Farm,  coal  No.  7  near .  50 

data  near  . 16,  32 

“Rolls”  in  coal  No.  6 . 42-49,  53 

Rossville,  absence  of  coal  No.  2  at.  54 

Ruddick  farm  w’ell,  log  of .  59 

Ruddy  farm  well,  log  of .  58 

S 

Schafer’s  mine,  notes  at . 32,  40,  42 

Sharon  mine,  notes  at  . 39,  41,  49 

Sidell,  absence  of  coal  No.  2  at....  54 

coals  at . 32,  50 

formations  at .  62 

Structure,  definition  of .  24 

discussion  of  . 24-29 

T 

Topography,  pre-glacial  . 22-23 

Trenton  formation,  discussion  of  57,  61 

Two  Rivers  Coal  Co.,  acknowledg¬ 
ments  to  .  11 

levels  by  .  26 


V 

Vermilion  County,  coal  absent  in 


places  .  29 

coal  data  for  . 34-38 

coals  near .  19 

mines  in  . 9,  12 

production  for  .  9 

W 

Wayne  County,  structure  in .  27 

Western  Brick  Co.,  acknowledg¬ 
ments  to  .  11 

roof  of  coal  No.  7  in .  53 

Westville,  coal  No.  6  near .  9 

White  County,  structure  in .  27 


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PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  COAL  MINING 

INVESTIGATIONS 


Bulletin  1. 


Bulletin  2. 


Bulletin  3. 


Bulletin  4. 


Preliminary  Report  on  Organization  and  Method  of 
Investigations,  1913. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  VIII  (Danville),  by 
S.  O.  Andros,  1914. 

A  Chemical  Study  of  Illinois  Coals,  by  Prof.  S.  W.  Parr, 
1914.  ,  o 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  VII  (Mines  in  bed  6 
in  Bond,  Clinton,  Christian,  Macoupin,  Madison, 
Marion,  Montgomery,  Moultrie,  Perry,  Randolph, 
St.  Clair,  Sangamon,  Shelby,  and  Washington  coun¬ 
ties),  by  S.  O.  Andros,  1914. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  I  (Longwall),  by  S. 
O.  Andros,  1914. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  V  (Mines  in  bed  5  in 
Saline  and  Gallatin  counties),  by  S.  O.  Andros,  1914. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  II  (Mines  in  bed  2  in 
Jackson  county),  by  S.  O.  Andros,  1914. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  VI  (Mines  in  bed  6  in 
Franklin,  Jackson,  Perry,  and  Williamson  counties), 
by  S.  O.  Andros,  1914. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  III  (Mines  in  beds  1 
and  2  in  Brown,  Calhoun,  Cass,  Fulton,  Greene, 
Hancock,  Henry,  Jersey,  Knox,  McDonough,  Mer¬ 
cer,  Morgan,  Rock  Island,  Schuyler,  Scott,  and 
Warren  counties),  by  S.  O.  Andros,  1915. 

Coal  Resources  of  District  I  (Longwall),  by  Gilbert  H. 
Cady,  1915. 

Coal  Resources  of  District  VII,  by  Fred  H.  Kay,  1915. 

Coal  Mining  Practice  in  District  IV  (Mines  in  bed  5  in 
Cass,  DeWitt,  Fulton,  Knox,  Logan,  Macon,  Macon, 
McLean,  Menard,  Peoria,  Sangamon,  Schuyler, 
Tazewell,  and  Woodford  counties),  by  S.  O. 
Andros,  1915. 

Coal  Mining  in  Illinois  by  S.  O.  Andros,  1915. 

Coal  Resources  of  District  VIII  (Danville),  by  Fred 
H.  Kay  and  K.  D.  White,  1915. 

Bulletin  12.^  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines,  Occurrence  of  Explo¬ 
sive  Gases  in  Coal  Mines,  by  N.  H.  Darton,  1915. 

Bulletin  83.*  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines,  The  Humidity  of  Mine 

Air,  by  R.  Y.  Williams,  1914. 

•Copies  of  this  bulletin  ma^be  obtained  by  addressing  the  Director,  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Mines,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Bulletin  5. 


Bulletin  6. 


Bulletin  7. 


Bulletin  8. 


Bulletin  9. 


Bulletin  10. 

Bulletin  11. 
Bulletin  12. 


Bulletin  13. 
Bulletin  14. 


--’■»•  •<  ►  -*'  ■  •  .  •  »  •  ».*'  I  •  *  '  -</  •  •  ^  ^  i  ^  ■  J*-,  A-  .  —  ■_,  -  V.  •  -  -  N 


